


Dan, Angel of Taco Tuesday

by FluffyGlitterPantsDragon



Series: Re-Creation [1]
Category: Lucifer (TV)
Genre: Abuse of italics, Anal Sex, Angst, Blood and Gore, Blow Jobs, Canonical Character Death, Cuddles, Dan says "fuck" a lot, Douchifer, Douchifer is endgame, F/F, F/M, Gun Violence, Happy Ending, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, I said whump right?, Implied Mpreg, Internal Danologue, Lucidan, M/M, No incest but Lucifer worries about it, Only Temporary Chloe/Pierce, Oral Sex, Poor Dan Espinoza, Rampant trope abuse, Reveal, Self-Harm, Smut, Snark, The shit you put up with for an angelic boyfriend, This was supposed to be crack, Whump, Wing Grooming, Wing Reveal, Wings, World with magic in it, frenemies to lovers, season 2 into 3
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-06
Updated: 2020-04-13
Packaged: 2021-02-26 03:08:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 14
Words: 66,130
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21696688
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FluffyGlitterPantsDragon/pseuds/FluffyGlitterPantsDragon
Summary: Dan nurses a crush and finds out it's all true. Not Deckerstar. Not OT3. Pecker isn't permanent either.Takes place mostly near the end of season three, with a little juggling due to the Douchifer alteration of the timeline.Work unrelated to any of my existing series. Because I'm First Time Trash. Fight me.
Relationships: Chloe Decker/Marcus Pierce, Dan Espinoza/Lucifer Morningstar, Mazikeen (Lucifer TV)/Original Female Character(s)
Series: Re-Creation [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1764484
Comments: 189
Kudos: 517
Collections: Douchifer Pride March 2020





	1. Well, that's one way to deal with it.

**Author's Note:**

> Updated notes: Is this an AU? There's magic here, but not a lot. 
> 
> Thanks, always, to Just_Mad_Enough and GlitterSkullFairy for their tireless awesomeness.

Curiosity killed the cat, but satisfaction brought it back.

_“Is it my thanks you want? Or a kiss?”_

_Lucifer’s soul-gathering, black-lined eyes raked Dan up and down, lingering on no particular part of him but making him feel stripped bare. Without Dan's input on the matter, his eyes flicked traitorously to Lucifer’s inviting lips. He wrenched his eyes back up with an act of willpower. Neither facial feature helped his situation, or his brain, which had taken a decidedly unplanned trip down a road he hadn't seriously considered_ _before this very moment_ _._

_His physical side seemed just fine with this turn of events. Which was never a fun experience in a crowd, but there wasn't much to be done except mentally scream at various parts not to react._

_Because that always works._

Lucifer's question reverberated in Dan’s skull, relentless and uncaring of his feelings in the matter, or his protests at the time, for months.

First, he shoved it to the back of his brain in denial-land. There was no possible way Lucifer was serious - about the question or the answer to it. He was never serious about _anything_. 

_Except sex_. 

Did Lucifer affect _everyone_ this way _?_ Everyone but his ex-wife, apparently, judging by the sheer number of eyerolls she directed at her partner. Everyone _else_ climbed all over him. Literally.

Second, Dan spent _way_ too long thinking about it. Not seriously, mind you. There wasn't any harm in wondering, not when the man displayed himself like a horny peacock. Even if he wasn't serious, it was clear he liked being ogled.

_Shit. Am I ogling? Stop it, Dan._

Third, he did not need to date a guy with a Devil complex. Or a Father (THE Father) complex. Or any of the myriad of other issues the guy had.

Fourth, he didn’t need to date _a guy_. 

Then again, who said anything about _dating?_ Dan could probably just show up and deal with his curiosity and leave again and nothing would come of it. Done and done. 

Certainly, he had better things to do with his time, like at least make an _attempt_ to be a better dad and a better cop.

He noticed Lucifer stole _his_ food but no one else’s. Pudding, sandwiches, cookies, in no particular order. Maybe more pudding than other things. 

It annoyed the fuck out of him.

Dan brushed it off as being his personal snack demon. Then he started wondering if it was a 'pulling girls' pigtails thing'. Which had to be stupid, since the guy had a million lovers. It wasn't hard to see why he couldn't keep a girl/boyfriend. The _wife_ left, too. That was weird as fuck, as she had only been around for like, a week or two. Clearly, he had commitment issues. 

Still. For a dude, he _is_ kinda pretty. 

_Knock it off Dan,_ Dan unhelpfully told his brain. Again.

* * *

His life never got any _less_ weird.

Charlotte is Lucifer’s _step-mother._ Trixie talks about him all the time. He can’t escape the guy.

_Maybe he should stop trying._

_You know, if he would just give the Devil thing a rest-_

_Still no._

* * *

Charlotte forgot him entirely. Chloe had eyes for the new (boss) guy - and that was weird, even if Dan was way past being jealous - and Lucifer got even harder to deal with. 

Honestly, if anyone was going undercover to be a gay husband with Lucifer, it really shouldn't have been the _boss_. Not that Dan is jealous of _that_ , per se. But undercover assignments shake up the job from time to time, which is welcome.

Plus, Pierce has like, zero chemistry with anyone. Especially Lucifer. Had Pierce ever even done this kind of work before? No one asked his opinion. 

Then again, he had no clue what Chloe saw in him either. If Dan were into guys, at _all,_ it wouldn't be ones built as much as Pierce. 

Actually kissing Lucifer to keep their cover intact never would have needed to happen with Dan. Granted, he would have had a really hard time not punching Lucifer for going all-in on the 'annoying neighbor' routine, but - well, yeah there's probably no other possible outcome there. 

Okay, maybe they made the right call with assignments after all.

But still.

Where had Lucifer even _found_ those speedos in the first place? 

He made the mistake of asking.

A pair showed up in his mailbox from Amazon two days later, _in his size_ . It was a Mexican flag base instead of American. He couldn't decide if Lucifer was being racist or just…Lucifer. (Fuck, he was born _here.)_ It showed up with a note from Lucifer requesting him to model them and send photos with a cheeky devil face sketch.

Because _of course_ he was going to do that. 

If it had been anyone else, he would have set the box on fire. 

_No one_ needed to know they did make his ass look great. Even if they were ridiculous. 

He threw them in the back of the closet with his surf gear.

* * *

Things had been looking up. 

Charlotte seemed to want to get together again, but she was having pretty serious issues. Time-loss aside, her personality changed. 

Still hot though. 

Now that Dan knew she was intrinsically inside Lucifer's life, it probably wasn't a good idea to date again (or maybe _actually_ date this time) while he had unresolved feelin- _responses_ to Lucifer. 

He sort of hoped that with time and exposure, they would fade. They didn't. He seemed doomed to sort it all out one way or another. Luckily, Dan was doing just fine. Unluckily, he still had to work with (and look at) the guy - who sent him thinly-veiled leers in response. Dan mostly ignored him. Lucifer could have anyone. Probably had _had_ everyone, just wanted to add Dan to the notches, a neat little checkmark on his tidy list. 

That’s all. 

Dan had gotten really good at boxing up his own feelings for the greater good of a stable life. Or so he told himself. His brain knew Lucifer was kind of a dick. But his heart reminded Dan _he_ could be a dick too. He knew Lucifer had a therapist, he knew the guy was working on things, had been through enough of a shitty childhood to decide a Satan persona was the way to go, even if he swears he’d had the name forever.

When everyone instinctively recoils from you, over a name, it’s not your fault when you create space around yourself just to breathe. 

Dan never asked about the scars after the bathhouse case. They were too perfectly done to be anything but intentional. He could put two and two together between dad issues and the scars. He could forgive a lot, as long as Lucifer wasn’t actively fucking up cases, and he definitely got not wanting to talk about things better left buried. 

He had some of those himself.

Not much later, Charlotte told Dan that Lucifer had wings. The resulting fight was…not pretty. He really didn't want to blame the break-up _on_ Lucifer, but that was a pretty fucked up thing to say, to convince her of.

She threw _him_ out when he didn't believe her.

It was absolutely insane. 

Frankly, it was a little unfair, given he didn’t believe Lucifer when he said he was the Devil and _he_ didn’t lose his shit over people not believing him. 

* * *

Except then Dan confronted Lucifer a little later. His life and personal reality took a hard left turn due to new developments.

It probably wasn’t the best idea to begin with - drinking at LUX, stewing in his own juices until he talked himself into action. He was angry at Lucifer for somehow manipulating Charlotte, angry at Lucifer in general. He had never discovered how she could have possibly been related to him in any way - marriage or otherwise - as Lucifer remained a fucking black hole, despite pulling a few of the remaining strings he had left and copious digging on his own part. Not to mention an unwillingness of others to kick over rocks with Lucifer's name on them.

_Rich asshole. Doing rich asshole things._

Then again, it was probably a good thing he didn’t have a ton of money himself, he’d probably be just as much of an asshole, honestly. 

No one was around to stop him from going up to the penthouse, except himself, and that had never worked out well for him in the past. ‘Impulsiveness’ was practically his middle name.

The rich asshole in question slumped on his long couch with his long body, clad in shiny red PJ bottoms and nothing else. He looked...off. The _vibe_ alone is enough to shake off his alcohol buzz. 

The view...well.

His blood went cold. 

The place was a mess, with a silver service set for dinner for two out on a table, candles burnt down to nubs. There's a wine bottle on the floor where it had bounced rather than shattered. On top of the odd scene, the lights were dim and Lucifer was drunk.

Like, super drunk. Maybe stoned.

Oh yeah, and the aforementioned wings are out. Except they’re in two different places across the room, bloody and dead, like horror movie props. It took several painful seconds to realize what they really are. They’re not props. He _knows_ this like he knows he has hair on his head; the information seeping into his brain slowly but relentlessly. Inexplicable sadness suddenly weighed on him, clinging like wet fabric. 

The penthouse air tastes like death in his throat. _Did I just step into Hell? Or has Hell come here?_

Lucifer hasn’t responded to his presence, his gaze glassy-eyed and directionless. It’s a look he’s seen on suspects before - their life had suddenly left their control, they did something stupid - sometimes it’s a victim, sometimes it’s a perp. Or something was done to them. 

The blood on Lucifer’s hands said maybe it was both things. Other than that, he looked...okay, from here. He took a couple of careful steps inside, despite all his instincts screaming at him to pick another direction, _any_ other direction than toward the thing on the couch.

He approached, pressing a hand on a cushion near a silk-covered leg. He knew victims in this kind of state could snap or lash out, uncaring of who was near them. He could feel the heat coming off Lucifer’s body from there. He scanned carefully for injuries but didn’t see any on the front. He didn’t see any blood running off him either. 

Lucifer’s fingers twitched on his pants, red on red. 

_Lucifer, self-proclaimed Devil._

Actual _Devil._

_Fucking great._

He thought about calling 911, but a second look at the wings made him discard it. 

Chloe was another option, but he didn’t want to alarm her if she didn’t already know about...this.

He laughed to himself, quietly. Over a decade of police training kept him focused, kept him from collapsing on the floor or the end of the couch. _Assess the situation. Don’t contaminate the scene._

He was about to contaminate the hell out of it.

A curved knife - far too small to have caused this much damage - rested on the floor. The blood on it (and trailed across the floor from where it was flung or dropped) stood counter to his opinion of the thing. Loose, broken feathers littered the floor in singles and in cold, wet clumps and sharp white fragments, almost like chips of ice or snow on the ground. 

From under a mop of unruly black hair, Lucifer finally met his eyes - or at least looked at his face. There's fear there. Loathing. An impossibly deep well of rejection. Dan has a passing familiarity with that feeling, but this...

The moment stretched.

Almost hysterically, Dan said, “you gotta put a lock on that elevator, man.” 

Lucifer nodded. Perhaps in agreement. Perhaps he was too stoned to take notice of someone else in the room, just responding to noise.

In this fantastic new world, that's all Dan is; noise. Merely human. 

If nothing else, Dan can put practicality first, shoving the cosmic ramifications of the scene somewhere he could maybe unpack later, and maybe even not go crazy doing so. He doubted he'd be that lucky. But maybe he could get home first and lose his mind in privacy.

He's not sure why he didn't just turn around and leave, except Lucifer is also a friend, who clearly needs some help. 

He found a cleaning closet, more of a cubby or nook since there seemed to be no doors at all in the whole damn place, and grabbed a dustpan and broom. The lights were left turned down, as it felt anathema to raise them now, even though it would have helped his task.

Methodically, working his way around the room, he swept up every loose feather he could find, avoiding the dead, shattered wings as if they might bite him. The gentle, flexing scrape of the brush bristles along the floor kept him focused on his job. Bit by bit, he could distinguish bits of a bloody feather here and there from the dark wood floor. He began a routine; trips to the garbage bag he opened and left in the corner. Sweep, fill the pan, dump, repeat. 

When he got to the bar he stopped and poured a drink for himself, brought a fresh one to Lucifer, setting it down near him and resumed sweeping until he had a garbage bag half-full of celestial detritus. He thought it might be glowing slightly. He ignored it.

He looked helplessly between the 39-gallon black garbage bag and the wings, then gave up and went looking for a tarp or maybe a wheeled carrier of some kind. His search quickly became fruitless, so he finally found the light switch and checked again on Lucifer. 

When he did turn the lights up, the violent mess of Lucifer’s back became starkly visible as the Devil sat up on the couch, his skin sticking to the leather and snapping away again wetly. 

Dan had suspected there would be blood on his shoulders, but not the torn flesh. He didn’t know why he assumed one but not the other. He’d seen the results of stabbings, even flaying, but this was different. Lucifer’s back had been juiced like an orange. Fighting down bile and not entirely succeeding - he felt the acid burning his throat - he used the excuse of sprinting to the bathroom to grab towels, running a few under hot water and grabbing more to dry with. He spit several times into a sink, rinsing his mouth out and coming back to the couch slowly. 

Lucifer followed his movements robotically. While Dan found it a little unnerving, he pressed on. 

_Wing scars._

The touch of a warm, damp towel to Lucifer’s neck jolted him out of his remaining stupor. He jumped up and off the couch with far more energy than Dan suspected him capable of with his injury, but he finally seemed to realize he wasn’t alone. “Daniel?”

“Hey, hold still. That might get infected.”

 _I mean, probably?_ He's never seen him sick. Sleep-deprived, sure. Angels have some metabolic processes, apparently.

“What are you doing?”

“Sit back down, I’m going to clean that. Your couch is probably ruined, by the way.”

He looked like he was going to shrug, then hissed in pain. “I guess if you want to stop me from bleeding all over the place, I should let you.”

“Sure. I want to help you protect your floors. Sit and turn around.”

Dark eyes tracked him warily.

“I’m not arresting you or anything-” _oh there’s a fun thought. “_ Just, have a seat, okay?”

Lucifer finally did, sitting on the piano bench this time, which sat away from the instrument as if it had been kicked over and turned upright again.

Dan wasn’t sure where to start, settled for applying a cloth near the top of his back. He got a soft, low, sigh in return and he tried not to think about that sound too much. Bright red blood came away with long, tender strokes. The badly coordinated cuts made him realize Lucifer had done this to himself; there were too many, most starting low and dragging upward when they hadn’t severed...things. It had already begun to heal - clots coming away here and there, but showing only paper-cut slashes along the outer edges. 

Dan dropped a dry towel on the floor with barely a sound and Lucifer flinched anyway. He winced himself, lightly dragging a new, damp one down the center of his back, avoiding the worst of the damage. Blood soaked into it almost immediately, and Dan regretted not grabbing gloves.

Uncharitably, he was thankful the blood seemed fresh and he wouldn’t have to scrub it off skin, probably. 

His heart had taken up residence in his throat and hadn’t budged since he got here, filling it to the point of choking him. The faint smell of blood didn’t help, but at least it smelled like...well, blood and not...anything completely unfamiliar to him. Mixed in with it was a hint of Lucifer’s hair product - something tea tree-ish, with his sweat. 

He carried on, and the damage looked like it was healing under his clumsy attempts to clean it. He dropped the blood-soaked towel in the bag of feathers and came back, rubbing another one in slow, careful circles, imagining he was just bathing Trixie when she was still small. 

It was enough to mentally brace himself to keep going.

The third towel came away clean, the flesh under it visibly knitting and healing. The writhing skin made him gag again, but at least it was coming together, rather than apart. It closed up with less sound than Dan would have thought, and without leaving scars. Well, at least not any new or _additional_ scars.

Lucifer shivered and took in a breath. His shoulders flexed violently, joints cracking under the skin and he let out a whine, blindly reaching for the knife on the floor.

Dan intercepted him, realizing immediately that if Lucifer wanted to break the hold, he could. Risking the wrath of he knew not what, he grabbed Lucifer’s bicep. “What happened?”

The body he touched sighed and tilted, giving up. 

Dan caught him, wrapping his arms around him and guiding him back to the couch. “You okay?” He felt stupid for asking, but he didn’t have anything else. He grabbed the last damp towel and wrapped it around one of Lucifer’s bloody hands.

Finally, _finally,_ Lucifer registered he wasn’t alone. The earlier responses must have been reflexive. His eyes regained a bit of life, _looking_ at Dan for the first time all night. “Douche?”

Dan rolled his eyes, “Ah, yeah, that’s how I know you’re back,” he suspected, but asked anyway, “you want to tell me who did this to you?”

Lucifer sat back, pulling the heat of his torso away from Dan, who tried not to just follow the movement like a lizard seeking a rock to sprawl on. _No, Dan, bad imagery._ He still tightened his grip with the towel, working blood out of Lucifer’s knuckles and keeping him close enough to perform the actions comfortably. He’d need soap to get it all out, but he hoped the action felt as soothing to him as it did to Lucifer - to help. 

“I did it. It doesn’t matter. They’re back again. I can feel them crawling in my skin.”

There was no processing power left. “Come again?”

He all but shouted, “My bloody _wings_! I can feel them all over again”

He flinched but didn’t let go, working the cloth between fingers. “Is that normal?”

“Only since the first time I had them removed. She refused to do it again,” he laughed lowly, “demons refusing my orders. I would have killed her in Hell for such a thing. Perhaps not Mazikeen, but any others. It’s easy with demons, you know.”

He clenched his jaw, refusing to jump up and run away screaming. Deliberately, Dan turned Lucifer’s right hand over to work on the palm, feeling the warmth leaking through the cooling towel. “I don’t know.”

He was quiet for a moment. “Maze didn’t do this part.”

Dan pretended he didn’t understand. Not thinking was easier. “I have a kid. I’ve cleaned up my share of messes. I’ve seen more blood at crime scenes. Not for lack of trying on your part, apparently.”

“I heal fast.”

“Okay, Wolverine.” Dan dropped Lucifer’s right hand and picked up the left. Lucifer’s skin was smooth and warm. He felt his own skin flush slightly, his pulse raise a little He sensed Lucifer’s smirk more than saw it, looking away from his face and down. 

“I guess you believe me now?”

Reality - his new reality started to press in from the edges, demanding his attention. “I suppose I have to.”

Lucifer. Fallen. Lord of the Underworld, walking the earth.

Saving Chloe. Probably him too. 

Devil and pudding thief. 

Winding himself into their lives, never lying about who he was. 

He didn’t mean to do it, not exactly. He slid his hands up to Lucifer’s face, who looked back, bitterly, “I guess you can’t deny my power anymore, then, can you?”

He missed the significance of the statement. “Your what?” Then it hit him. _Everyone_ wanted to fuck him. His _desire_ powers _made_ people around him want to have sex with him. Therefore, Dan was just succumbing to his aura. 

Just like everyone else. 

“My powers of sexy persuasion.”

 _This was his world now._ “I don’t think that’s it. I want to help.”

“That’s what they all want, isn’t it? To help? Well, take me to bed then.”

“What?” Now that Lucifer mentioned it, he could feel his power, cloying and sweet and promising things his eyes clearly didn’t actually want, not now. “Maybe...maybe later. When I think you can consent.”

“ _You’re_ saying no? I must be losing my touch. Admittedly, the bloody mess isn’t helping.” 

“Lucifer. You’ve just had a lot of trauma. Maybe you need a blood transfusion, I don’t know.”

“I’ll recover. I’ve done this before. It didn’t help then either. I didn’t _need_ help.”

There was a lie there, but Dan didn’t know if Lucifer was actually aware of it. He looked healthy enough, now either way. Dan dropped his hands. Words spoken aside, he had trouble keeping his eyes up, above the deceptively gentle curves of his collarbones, just begging to be - _nope._ “What can I do?”

“If you aren't going to make yourself useful, you can leave me alone.”

Dan leaned back, opening the space between them. “Fine.” If he doesn’t want help, or to acknowledge what he’d been doing so far, then he can deal with the rest of this by himself.

He swept up the knife on the floor, pausing by the dinner service and wondering about the story there. He hadn’t always been able to ask for help himself when he most needed it, and he was _human_. Lucifer’s lack of tact and _adultness_ made a lot more sense now. “Can you at least promise me you won’t hurt yourself again?”

His lips thinned. “There’s a mate to that dagger, on the counter. Take it and I won’t be able to. Well, not unless the… never mind.”

Which wasn’t a promise at all and the half-finished sentence struck something in his brain he just couldn’t put his finger on, but it would have to do. Watching him, Dan went into the kitchen to grab it. He did, stacking it with the other one, then turned around and Lucifer was _there. “JESUS CHRIST!”_

“Must I repeat myself, especially to you? No, not Jesus. May I ask what you’re planning on doing?”

Dan commanded his heart to stop racing. At least he was upright again. “With what? Your knives? Clean them and put them in a drawer somewhere, probably.”

He nodded toward a wing on the floor. “With your… newfound faith.”

“Oh, that.”

“Yes, _that.”_

“I haven’t gotten that far yet. I assume I’m not the only one who knows.”

Without giving anything away, he said, “that’s correct.”

“I don’t know what you’ve been through, but clearly, it’s a lot. You asked me to leave, so I’m leaving. Unless you want to talk?”

“Why aren’t you screaming in terror?”

 _Why aren’t I? “_ Because you’re the one in pain.” 

“I told you, I’m _fine_ , now. Right as rain. Healthy as a horse. Fit as a bloody fiddle."

“I’m not talking about physical pain, though I envy your recovery time.” He ran his fingers through his hair. “You did this for a reason.”

“I could ask _you_ the same - why are you here?”

“Honestly, I wanted to punch you in the face. I don’t, now. And I owe someone an apology, I think.”

“Well, now you know just how ineffective punching me would be.”

“Seriously, what prompted this?”

Lucifer’s face closed down. “I’m sure you’ll find out shortly. Dad has a strange sense of humor.”

It wasn’t until Dan stepped into the elevator and the doors closed behind him that he realized what Lucifer meant by _Dad._

“Fuck me.”

* * *

Dan took a long, hot as balls shower, then went to bed. Got up again. Went back to bed. Flicked helplessly through Instagram (found Lucifer’s too) and finally texted his daughter on a whim. 

_Dad: Hey, Trix. I know you should be sleeping, but I just wanted to be sappy and say I love you. I’m gonna pick up a huge chocolate cake for next time you’re here._

He went back to skimming aimlessly. Apparently, the Devil figured out filters on his phone. He had a ton of followers, many of who left a staggering number of inappropriate comments on the photos. 

The first dozen were probably flattering. Even here, people threw themselves at him.

A few minutes later, the phone buzzed with a reply.

_Trixie: Hi dad, can't sleep?_

_Dad: Nah, long night. You're in bed, right? Did I wake you up?_

_Trixie: Mom says I'm not supposed to be on the phone after bed, but it's you, so._

_Dad: didnt think you'd be there, sorry to wake you up. There’s no emergency._

_Trixie: Did you have a nightmare? I sometimes wake up from nightmares._

_Dad: No, I jsut can’t sleep. Miss my kid. The place is kinda empty._

_Trixie: dork_

_Dad: monkey butt_

_Trixie: everything cool?_

He stared at his screen like it might tell him what to ask. He knew what he wanted to say, but it just seemed weird.

_Dad: I need to ask, Lucifer's nice to you right? You said he's funny._

_Trixie: He's a dork too._

_Dad: Like me?_

_Trixie: Totally different dork. He used to come over more._

The totally-not-jealousy pang pulled his chest unexpectedly. 

_Dad: …. Like, a lot?_

_Trixie: (smiley face emoji) Not like that. Not like *Marcus*. But I wish it was Lucifer instead - he’s a lot funnier._

_Dad: Oh._

_Trixie: We used to do board games, monopoly and stuff._

_Dad: Yeah?_

_Trixie: I have a secret. I like Lucifer a lot more than moms boyfriend._

_Dad: ...yeah, me too._

_Trixie: (Devil emoji) (Heart emoji)_

_Trixie: see you soon, right? Maybe we can do a board game night too._

Would asking his daughter if she wanted Lucifer there too sound weird? If she couldn’t have him there through her mom, would she be happy another way?

Apparently, he thought about it too long.

_Trixie: you can invite Lucifer too if you want. You can be dorky together._

Hoping he’s not responding too quickly, he texted back.

_Dad: If he’s free, sure._

_Trixie: (more heart emojis)_

What was he getting himself into?

* * *

One sleepless night later, Dan stared into the bottom of his empty coffee mug. Lucifer hadn’t turned up for work yet and last night had started to catch up to him. His shoulders felt itchy for no discernible reason, except maybe leftover sympathy for the Devil. 

He scratched his neck since that looks far less weird than reaching over his shoulder in the middle of work. 

Across the way, Chloe’s ring finger caught the light. 

He suddenly had a better idea of why Lucifer went off the deep end. Dan knew Lucifer had a thing for her - it was obvious to everyone, including her, really. He didn’t think she knew the truth though, or she might flip out. _Maybe Lucifer wasn’t actually her type._

_Right. Tall, dark and handsome is everyone's type._

He was free to wonder now, at least, without feeling like he might be in the way. Even if it seemed way too soon.

Even if he privately just laid a bet against the marriage lasting. Just to himself really, it wasn’t his business - except that would make Pierce Trixie’s _step-dad_ , and he really didn’t deserve her. Either of them, really. Dan put his pencil down before he broke it.

The occasional person stopped to congratulate her. She smiled, played with the ring, and bent back over her paperwork. She caught Dan looking, once. They stared at one another for a long second. 

Dan waved weakly. 

_I hope she’s happy._

Chloe smiled and waved back. 

_Fuck it._

Dan texted Lucifer. _Wanna get dinner later? I have to do a thing, but I could use some company. Drinks after?_

* * *

Ella watched Lucifer come into her lab. “You okay, bud?”

“Why wouldn’t I be?”

Ella swept in for a hug instead of answering.

He sighed but accepted the hug. “Yes… well.”

She let go with a last squeeze. “You look like something the cat dragged in.”

“I generally dislike cats. They do brighten up the internet, however.”

“You’re fidgeting dude.”

“I do not fidget.”

“You really do. Spill.”

Lucifer peered out her lab windows in the general direction of the bullpen, but there were any number of people he could be looking for. “I’m at odds. Someone wants to spend time with me, and it’s not the detective. And I don’t know _why.”_

“Like a tribe night thing? You know I’d love to hang sometime if you want.”

“...Perhaps that’s it.”

“Maybe they have the hots for you. Do I know who it is?”

Lucifer scraped the bottom of his stolen pudding cup with his spoon and held it up as if inspecting the last tongueful of vanilla swirl sweetness. “You do know them, yes.” 

“Then go do the thing and come back with some juicy gossip. You look like you need a distraction.”

_A distraction. Yes, that's it._

* * *

The knock on the van door startled Dan. He opened the back door to find Lucifer, dressed probably extra-nicely, guessing by the way his hair looked recently touched up.

“Well, I wasn’t expecting _this_.”

Dan looked a hair pole-axed as he peered from the door of the undercover van. “Huh.” Lucifer's already attractive bearing had been groomed, his perfect five o'clock shadow had been shaved with a razor edge, making him look like something out of a movie. He must have been staring, but Lucifer didn’t seem to notice.

“I admit, when you asked me to meet you at the corner of these streets, I assumed you meant the upscale food truck - as unsanitary as it is - on the other side of the road.”

Dan loosed his grip on the door handle, wiping his hands down his best pair of jeans. “Get in the van, Lucifer. And it is kind of what I meant.”

His partner of the night looked around doubtfully but did as requested. "Hold up, are we on a _job_?"

Dan held a pair of headphones and indicated the other chair. "Why else would I ask you out here?"

"I suppose the complete lack of _ambiance_ should be a clue."

 _Did he look...disappointed? Surely not._ Still, Dan had wanted to get him out here and now his subterfuge seemed shitty. It was a spur of the moment idea, invite Lucifer out to a location because he didn't think he'd bother to show up otherwise for work, not after last night anyway.

And maybe Dan could be a chickenshit who thought he might be turned down if he asked without a backup excuse of 'stakeout'. 

Both things happened to be true.

Now, Dan had to figure out how to salvage the situation without looking like even more of an asshole. Which seemed unlikely. 

Lucifer, as unobservant as he was, still didn't miss Dan's not exactly internal sigh. "I'm sorry if my mere presence is so disappointing."

"God, no, it's not that. I actually like working with you."

"Wrong deity, _again_. I somehow doubt it. I assume you want to drown me with questions?”

“I mean, yeah, I have questions, but that’s not why asked you out...here.”

“Aspirations of a food truck dinner notwithstanding, I did show up hungry. I can't help but feel like I'm being stood up."

He cleared his throat. "Ah. I could spring for dinner. The truck over there is actually pretty good."

He got a stink-eye in response. "Don't feel like you have to _make_ me feel better. Clearly, it was just a ruse to get me out here since you have so little faith in me as a _co-worker._ "

 _Ah, shit_. His stomach felt like lead. "It's not like that."

"What's it like then? Living up to your nickname?"

"Okay, I'm sorry! I didn't think-"

"Well, that much is _obvious._ "

"That'd you say ‘yes’."

"To you?"

"To me, to a direct question." _Fuck. This is not going well._ "You're talented and charming and good-looking and I'm ...not." he dropped his gaze, unable to prevent the oncoming disaster but at least he didn't have to look at it for the next three seconds. “We have a case, too. I really can use your help if you can stay.”

"Daniel."

Unwillingly, he tilted his head back up, to meet a softer set of eyes than he expected.

"I _did_ come out here. The surveillance truck is not my idea of a date location."

"Not exactly mine either, actually. After the penthouse, I wasn’t sure…”

Lucifer walked him back to the wall of the van, tilting his head almost dangerously, stalking him. “If all you want is a good shag…” Dan swallowed. “No…”

He drew back. “No? again?”

“I mean, I don’t think I’d - look, I don’t want to lose you as a friend, so if this isn’t something _you_ want -”

“I’ve slept with hundreds, perhaps thousands of partners, what makes you think I don’t?”

His face was inches away, but he was as hard to read as ever when he had his guard up. “Your eyes. You might do it - me - but I don’t think you really want to. It’s not _me_ you want.” Dan was guessing blindly, but it wasn’t a far assumption to make. He’d been in a similar situation with Charlotte, letting her in, but not for sex. 

It wasn’t what he wanted. Dan wanted lazy mornings and warm embraces. He wanted a partner again. He wanted someone to smile at over dessert, share popcorn at the movies with.

And okay, maybe the literal Devil shouldn’t be anywhere on the list of potentials, but he _felt_ so deeply. A giant dork, sure, but, he _cares_ about people. 

The Devil never lied about who he was. 

The mask dropped like a crack in the sky. “You’re only half right. I do enjoy sex, you know.” Lucifer stood a few inches taller than him, looming. “If I said I wouldn’t let the sex affect our friendship, would you deny me a third time?”

 _Hnnngh._ “Yeah.”

His eyes lit up - not the reaction Dan was expecting. His fingers gripped the back of Dan’s neck, thumb brushing his earlobe. His voice was low and soft, considering, “really?”

“Only if you want it. Me. I don’t want to just be another drive-by.” Dan looked back at him, searching for something, hoping to find it. His hands were on Lucifer’s hips, thumbs on his belt under the jacket. He didn’t remember doing that. 

It was oddly scary if the alternative turned out to be true: if he _didn’t_ actually want it. Him.

Cigarette smoke lingered on Lucifer’s breath. The heat between them was almost tangible. 

Lucifer paused, centimeters away. “You want _me_ though.”

Dan felt it this time, the power of the man, of the Devil. His bones shivered. 

_How do I know the Devil isn’t evil?_

“Yeah. Yes. But not in a van. And not if you’re just doing your ‘sexy powers’ thing.”

“I have it on good authority that _this_ police van is perfectly adequate for a romp. Plenty of space to be on my knees.”

The visual was extremely compelling. “Like you said, not ideal for a date though.”

Lucifer shifted, ducking his head and latching his lips to the bottom of Dan’s neck, at the collar, sucking the skin into purpling submission. It hit him like a live wire. Lucifer’s hot, cigarette breath floated along his skin under a muttered promise, “something to think about then,” he drew away with a secret smile all the same, quickly and innocently turning away to find the case file somewhere in the van. “So, what’s this crime we’re looking into?”

His ability to process anything failed for several eternities. “I.. ah. There’s a thing.”

Lucifer nodded seriously. “That tends to happen here.”

_That’s how. He could have just taken me._

_...I kind of wanted him to._

Dan commanded his dick to calm the fuck down. He touched his neck, feeling the leftover warmth and slightly damp hickey and relieved it was low enough to hide tomorrow if he wanted to. He toyed with the idea of not covering it, a sort of giddy, guilty thrill riding up his spine and pricking the back of his head. 

There was no doubt Lucifer would be very very good in bed. Some part of Dan needed to know that Lucifer would back down, (mostly) respect his boundaries. Another part of Dan wanted to shove Lucifer up against the wall of the van and devour him, inch by inch. Tug out the black curls that lurked below the surface of all the hair product, tear the buttons of that shirt-

Lucifer Cheshire-cat-grinned at him. 

_What was-? Right._ “There’s a guy who’s making a drop tonight. Drug deal. Nothing exciting, honestly, but we need to watch for him.”

“Well, I suppose we can’t have you all distracted, can we?”

He remembered to drop his hand. “I’ll get us some food if you keep watch.”

Lucifer’s stare very deliberately flicked downward to the front of Dan’s tight jeans. _Dammit._

He took several long breaths. “I did promise you dinner.” He also said he showed up hungry. Did… angels and devils actually get hungry? Devils... Demons. He shook his head before he decided to ask questions he didn’t really want the answer to - yet. 

He’s a strong guy himself, but the literal Devil could have anyone he wanted. _Take_ anyone he wanted. Bury it with money under a rock if it was problematic. Go back to Hell or whatever it was going on for a few decades until the heat wore off the name.

_He could have used force._

_He didn’t._


	2. Wood for sheep

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lucifer and Dan run into an old acquaintance of the Devil'.

Chloe twisted her diamond ring around her finger, only half-listening to Lucifer. Ella was planning the night to come and she hoped it wouldn’t be as complete a disaster as her first bachelorette party. 

It seemed really soon for one, but Ella had already pulled the trigger on something huge and likely non-refundable, so who was she to say no? 

“Hmm?”

It was her own fault. Her life just had a huge change, and her head was full of _do I really want to get married in a huge ceremony again? How many invitations does his side of the family need? What even is his mom’s_ ** _name_** _? How much does HR hate me right now?_ And, very very quietly, _What the hell am I doing?_

_God. I missed almost all of what Lucifer just said._

He was still talking and holding up an open palm, “I also want to state upfront, I realize you have no stake in this matter. Given the circumstances, however, I thought I’d seek your opinion.”

 _Oh, God. What did he say this time?_ “I’m sure it’s fine, Lucifer.”

Oblivious, he continued, “it’s not like Daniel should even _be_ my first choice. Or, say, ninth, _and_ he needs some kind of push to fall under my sway, to top it all off.”

“Wait, _what_ about Dan?”

“It’s mind-boggling, I know. I sincerely doubt he even has any experience himself. I was wondering if you’ve ever witnessed any? Should I manage to seduce him this time, do you expect him to be flailing about hopelessly or might he surprise me?” 

Her brain broke a little. “This time?”

“He’s been oddly resistant to my advances.”

“He’s straight.”

He had this _look_ on his face like _she_ should know better. “ _Skillet_ , Detective, remember?” 

She reminded herself to try and limit the number of eyerolls she gave him per hour. 

“What happened with Charlotte?”

“Mum? I actually forgot to ask, but I do hope we aren’t both calling on him. That would be awkward.”

 _Sure. *That* is the only thing that would be awkward. RIght._ The last several minutes crashed into her thought process. Lucifer wanted to date... _Dan?_ Maybe _Is_ dating her ex? “You don’t actually _know_?”

“Usually it’s not my business,” he frowned, then brightened as something occurred to him, “oh! Did he cheat on you? Is that why you split up?”

She blinked up at him. “No, Dan is a number of things, but he’s not a cheater - not on me, and I seriously doubt anyone else. He wasn’t one of those guys who had more than one girlfriend at a time.” After a moment’s consideration, she reluctantly added, “and no, I didn’t cheat on him either - sometimes couples just don’t work out. We had a good marriage for several years, and then we didn't - he focused on work and maybe I did too. Just out of curiosity, would a history of cheating put a crimp in your plans?”

“Well, not historically. A number of spouses have cheated on their partners with _me_ , after all.”

 _Right. One of many, many reasons I don't want to date Lucifer. It would be a terrible idea. Besides their huge differences, it was a disaster waiting to happen. Why am I still talking to myself about it?_ She shouldn’t be jealous of her ex at all. “Not...historically? But now it might?”

Lucifer worked his jaw slightly. “He’s insistent on a _date_. I can’t seem to get him into bed any other way. Is he a one-date man or the more traditional three? If I have to close off my penthouse for the foreseeable future, I’d like to know sooner rather than later.”

“Oh. Huh. You’d do that?”

Lucifer examined his fingernails. “Well, at least until he succumbs to my attempts. Can’t put in all that time and energy for _nothing_.”

“Really? You’re _planning_ on doing the love ‘em and leave ‘em bit? And you want _my_ help messing with my ex-husband?”

“Well, when you put it that way...is that abnormal?”

“Yeah, that’s a little messed up. I’m not going to help you date him if its going to just hurt him in the long run.”

He had that obvious look on his face - the one he wore when he was in full ‘playing Devil’ mode. “Oh? Do you think it will?”

Chloe counted to ten. “Yes. I think it will. Even though I’m not sure what this is even all about, I still care enough about him to ask you not to do that to him just to satisfy your own curiosity about what he’s like in bed.”

“I see.” He suddenly smiled at her. “I already have a good idea of what he looks like naked, of course, it’s not just that. Would you want to tell me? Granted, your experience would be vastly different from mine, but-”

“Yeah, no.”

“I mean, height differences alone-” he gestured between them as if _that_ was the obvious difficulty.

She rubbed her face. Something pulled in her chest as she looked up at his earnest face. “Not that you need to know, but he and I started out as a one-night stand. Some alcohol was involved, but he made a...good showing. Enough that I thought he was worth going out with for real.”

 _He showed up with a small bunch of flowers for their first real date, smiling nervously. He hadn’t even known about her problematic movie role back then. They had a lot to talk about, a lot in common. Dan’s frame is slimmer than Pierce’s. He couldn’t wrap himself around me the way Marcus does._ She tried to picture Dan and Lucifer - closer in build, but Lucifer did have a few inches of height on him. She'd seen Lucifer naked too.

She shifted in her seat a little and hoped Lucifer didn’t notice. She saw his mouth open again, so she added, “and no, Trixie was planned after we got married. We were both responsible adults about that.”

He appeared to be at a complete loss now. 

She groaned. “Are you unfamiliar with real relationships, Lucifer, or are you just going off things you’ve seen on TV?”

He lifted a finger, “and in Hell. No happily married couples down there. Actually, if both end up down in Hell, we would sometimes inflict them on each other in their cells. Demon Soaps, we called it. Very popular. This one royal couple went at it so well, we set up viewing-”

She glared at him.

Lucifer coughed, “back to the point at hand, if you have any tips?”

"That depends. Do you like him or are you just trying to get laid?"

He hedged. "Perhaps both?" 

"You mean it? You _like_ him? You aren't just saying that to get me to spill?"

"He's fit. Physically, he's my type."

She wasn't letting this one go. "Everyone is your type. And?"

"He’s not entirely insufferable.”

This was worse than pulling teeth. “Well, if you’re only tolerating him…”

“... He accepted me.”

Shuffling her case files, she almost told him off. _Maybe they deserve each other._ “He likes...liked to be...bossed around a little bit.” She felt her neck grow warm. “Don’t tell anyone, okay?”

His smile lit up the precinct. “Cross my heart,” he even drew his fingers across his chest over his heart

She looked around for nearby eavesdroppers, not at all suspiciously, lowering her voice, “before Trixie, I put him in handcuffs this one time,” _and it was really, really hot. Marcus probably wouldn’t let me do it to him._ She frowned to herself. 

“Oh my, was there a strap-on involved?”

Chloe fanned herself and whispered harshly, “What? No! That was as weird as we got. But you asked. And don’t tell _him_ I told you either!” _There were_ **_fingers_ ** _involved, but he only needed so much information._

_He could figure out the rest on his own, if Dan let him._

The mentioned memory came back vividly. _She had leaned over him, on all fours, one elbow tucked under her body to free a hand to fondle him. He watched her, his eyes soft and trusting as they experimented with hastily purchased lube and a crazy idea that turned out to be pretty fun._ She self-consciously put her impromptu fan down, but she was sure her face was still red. _Damn him._

_Marcus probably wouldn’t like *that* either._

Lucifer was still grinning like she’d given him a gift. “Don’t worry, I won’t tell him _you_ told me.”

_Oh God._

* * *

Lucifer picked Dan up at his place. He took a moment to admire the car he’d never actually gotten to sit in before. 

It was _sexy._

He’d never been a car buff, but he could appreciate elegant lines when he saw them. _Speaking of which._ He locked eyes with his _date -_ Lucifer looked like a million bucks, as he always did, but it was nice to know he put in the effort _for_ him. 

He shivered a little, letting himself in the passenger side and scuffing dirt off his shoes before he dropped into the low seat. “Hey?”

Lucifer put it in gear and casually dropped a hand behind Dan’s head. “You aren’t nervous, are you? I don’t think you’ve taken a full breath since I pulled up. Of course, I _am_ breathtaking - but do try not to fall unconscious.” His fingers gave a short brush against Dan’s head as he backed up out of the driveway then they fell away again. 

“Is that something… ?” He remembered to give directions. “It’s not far from here - turn there.”It quickly became almost impossible to talk over the sound of the wind and the engine, so he settled back to point out turns as needed. His date had to shift gears often enough that both hands were now kept occupied. 

He wasn’t sure if he should take up the touching slack or if it would even be welcome so he remained indecisive for the trip, fidgeting.

* * *

Lucifer came to a dead stop in front of their destination. mid-step. “Are you having a go with me?”

“If you can't take me at my nerdiest, you don’t deserve me at my best.”

He threw his hands up, “I thought this was just a bar.”

The banner hanging in the window indicated it was _much_ more than a bar.

Lucifer didn’t want to go to The Paddock. Dan can’t hear himself think at LUX, so he suggested a different place. 

Lucifer was unaware the bar also hosted a one-night-a-week board game night. Dan was not unaware of this fact. He punched Lucifer in the shoulder, “come on, expand your horizons a little. Would you rather we yell at each other over loud music and stupidly expensive drinks?”

“ _Free_ drinks, at least at LUX!”

“Fine, I owe you one on the drinks then.”

“Oh?” The sly smirk Lucifer tossed at him should have been a clue. The fact that he was with the literal Devil should have been a flashing neon sign of a clue.

Dan had never been great with signals, but he wasn’t stupid. “Sure, as long as it’s not out of my budget. And anyway, aren’t the girls out tonight? We can do our own thing, and we won’t run into any of them here.”

Lucifer missed a half-step. Dan didn’t comment on it. “You do have a point. Fine, what exactly am I in for?”

The returning, bright grin on Dan’s face nearly made him forget about the bachelorette party. To his credit, Dan did have lovely eyes.

“Have you ever played _Settlers of Catan_?”

It was one of those rare instances where he didn’t immediately come up with a sexualized version of whatever someone had just said. “I’m afraid to ask.”

“Don’t worry. The rules are easy. I even have a copy back home for when Trixie comes over. It’s better with more players though, as you’ll find out.”

Lucifer shot him a mildly suspicious look, but Dan was in the process of opening the door and holding it for him. 

“If I don’t enjoy this, you owe me more than a few drinks.”

Dan let himself have a lingering look after him, wiping his hands down his jeans to make sure they were dry. It wasn’t exactly a _date_ , but he was new to this aspect anyway, so he opted to just treat it like a friend night, something he would have invited Lucifer to at some point anyway and just see where and how it went.

It went surprisingly well, mostly.

Dan made a beeline toward the handful of people he knew here - a husband and wife pair who showed up regularly and the fifth at the table, a shy nerd named Gavin who looked more stereotypical for the game night, if not the bar setting.

The three chatting around the red game box all looked up at Lucifer blankly from their seats. 

He noticed, now, the slowly dawning looks of interest, even from Gavin, that pulled them all in. He felt it too, now that he was looking for it, as Lucifer dialed it down to a dull roar. 

Lucifer nodded and smiled, even shook hands with the couple, flirting lightly all around, even though none of them looked like the young, gorgeous models who frequented LUX. 

The woman giggled, her husband looked Lucifer over then shook his head, distracting himself by unboxing the set and setting out hexagonal tiles, one-by-one in a growing circle. Drinks were ordered and introductions were made.

After a short rule reading which Lucifer barely paid attention to, they got started. Dan chatted with his friends, tapping the edges of his cards on the table and going first. He turned to Lucifer to help him place his starting pieces and found that he’d already arraigned them in the shape of cocks. 

He wiped his face with his hand but the others just giggled. 

If he found more than a few excuses to bump his shoulder against Lucifer’s as he helped, no one pointed it out. 

The customary innuendo-laden trading of goods began after one or two rounds passed. 

Honestly, the game should just be renamed to ‘wood for sheep’ and left at that. 

Lucifer caught on quickly, turning wheat into ‘weed’ and bricks into ‘kilos’. His smile grew easily, wiggling his eyebrows at opportune moments and leaning into Dan's space more than strictly necessary.

Luckily, his friends all had dirty minds too. Cassie was worse than her husband, much to Lucifer's delight.

Lucifer, despite his earlier complaints that this was no chess game, caught on to the strategy and started building a road for a port. Gavin threatened to cut him off until Lucifer made a deal to trade extra cards next time not to do it. It was technically against the rules to do it out of turn, but no one there was a stickler about them.

He laughed loudly when he started being able to ‘grind up sheep to turn them into ore’ with his port. He also grumbled that he didn’t care for shepherds. Or the sheep either, but at least they weren’t _goats_. Dan managed to make a comment about the street prices of 'kilos' versus 'weed' that got a snicker out of Lucifer.

A few rounds of drinks and bad rolls had him commenting his sheep were not reproducing fast enough. Which led right back into more ‘wood for sheep’ jokes. He was in the middle of throwing back his third mid-grade whiskey when a woman caught his eye. 

Dan didn’t think much of it, until she put her hands on the edge of the table and leaned straight into Lucifer’s eyeline, cleavage on full display in a low-cut, colorfully patterned green dress. He almost swallowed his beer wrong. 

For the first time ever, at least that Dan could recall, Lucifer barely looked at her. Instead of the expected reaction, Lucifer’s smile froze in place, and Dan wanted to kick her out of the bar just for that. 

Everyone at the table stopped and looked over at her. 

She smiled, pushing her curly red hair back behind one ear. “Hey Luci.”

“Don’t call me that. What are you doing here?”

Dan’s blood ran cold for the second time in a week. He heard the depth of the words. The reaction plus the tone put him on edge. 

She noticed Dan’s face, smiling faintly at him with unnaturally blue and green eyes - one each, then flicking back to Lucifer. "You found a new crowd?"

"I'm here with a friend," his hand rested protectively on Dan's thigh. Dan hadn't noticed when it went under the table, but he made no attempt to dislodge it.

Her smile looked dangerous. “Aren’t you going to introduce me?”

His lips tightened. “That depends on what you’re going by these days. I’d call you Medusa but my friends might believe I’m insulting you.”

Dan sucked in a breath and leaned back. 

Cassie leaned on her elbow. “Well, Dan says you’re _Lucifer_ , so Medusa doesn’t seem that bad.” She looked up at the woman, “or is it a nickname?”

“An old name,” her eyes tracked to Dan, sparkling with mischief. “Oh, have we more than just a friend, Lucifer?”

Lucifer gave Dan a glance that made him think he was on the verge of being thrown over Lucifer’s shoulder and getting carried out. He sucked on his teeth. “It’s not your concern, harpy.”

Dan went from ‘slightly alarmed’ to ‘concerned’. “Er, Luce…”

The redhead pursed her lips. “Call me Puck. That way you don’t have to keep guessing.”

“I suppose that’s more recent than ‘Medusa’,”

Cassie’s husband, Mike, said, “Puck? Were your parents a fan of Shakespeare?”

She giggled. “Eventually, yes, you could say that. Can I buy you all a round?”

Gavin squeaked.

Lucifer’s hand on Dan’s leg felt oddly protective. He found his own covering it, feeling only a little odd and used to smaller ones. Lucifer winced slightly, making Dan flinch it away again, confused. Maybe more confused. 

“That’s not necessary, I’ve got it covered. There’s no place at the table for you, anyway.”

Puck smirked and Dan didn’t like it. Suddenly, she was seated, and her game pieces - the last set that wasn’t taken (yellow) - appeared on the game board, her road pieces scattered almost chaotically in a decidedly losing strategy. One of her two colony pieces was sitting next to the desert, nearly non-functional. 

Cassie, Mike, and Gavin didn’t seem to notice the change. Dan didn’t see what exactly happened, but he knew it had. He felt her power as much as Lucifer’s, or at least the aftereffects of it - a low buzz that started in the back of his head that ran down his back like a waterfall and faded quickly. 

She smirked openly at Dan, her fingers full of cards. 

Dan looked over at Lucifer for a cue, but his face had gone still. For a few long seconds, Lucifer just glared at her. “Well, _Puck_ , I suppose it’s your turn, then. Do you need a refresher on the rules? I can quote them, if you like.”

“No need. I came bearing gifts.”

At that, Lucifer nearly bolted. Instead, he took a long, deep breath and pasted a new smile on his face - the fake one Dan had seen often enough. It was entirely different from the one last night in the van. 

* * *

They stood outside Dan's apartment. Dan more awkwardly than Lucifer.

The last time he'd been this nervous, Charlotte had been standing there, leaning in, pushing them in the door.

He unlocked the door and turned to find Lucifer in his space. 

"Uhm."

"Aside from the foul beast showing up, I had fun."

"What is she, exactly?"

"You can call her a fae. The other names were correct as well - she's a shapeshifter and one of the more powerful non-celestial beings. They're often restless and nearly always a nuisance. She didn't join us to chat."

"I was afraid of that. Do I need to be worried? I mean… you're stronger than she is. Right?"

"Different set of powers. I can't shapeshift, per se, and my spell casting gets rusty when I don't use it. Puck is walking magic. She thinks shes funny, but she's not. She causes problems for her own amusement."

"Soooo, she didn't just … leave her whatever, like you did?"

"No. I'm sure of it."

Dan sensed Lucifer pulling away and he regretted asking about what probably amounted to an old ex. 

He swallowed. "Thanks for tonight, anyway, I know it's not your usual scene."

If Lucifer wasn't Lucifer, Dan would've sworn he sounded almost...shy. "Perhaps we can try another night?"

"Yeah, we can stay in next time. Uhm." Dan gathered stay bits of courage. "It's not your _thanks_ I want."

Lucifer looked back blankly.

_So much for that._

_Fuck it._

Dan tilted up to kiss him.

Lucifer didn't shove him through the door. 

The scruff against his chin was a little weird. 

He kind of wanted to know what it felt like in other places.

Lucifer broke off with a purr, staying close, "well, are you inviting me in?"

Dan's heart pounded in his ears. "Not tonight, okay?"

"Hmm. That's a first." Lucifer smirked to himself about some private joke. "I guess I am putting a lock on the elevator."

He frowned. "How's that?"

"You said I should get one. I vaguely recall that now. I'll give you the code when I think of one."

Oh. _Oh. "_ I mean. I get you're probably new to whatever we're doing, but it's early to do something like that. You don't have to."

Lucifer's face fell a little.

 _Gods_. "Thank you for offering - I just mean you don't have to upend your life just because of me."

"Right."

Dan kissed him again. "See you later?"

It wasn't shoving and clothes pulling and heated groping.

It was exactly what he wanted.

* * *

“What the actual fuck?”

Dan has a problem.

Normally - though it was pretty early to call it ‘normal’, he liked waking up next to someone. It made getting out of bed harder, but that was half the idea anyway. Pun intended, at least as of recently. In theory.

He woke up in a near panic, hot, wheezing and struggling to pull in a full breath of air. It felt like someone had left itchy sandbags on his back. Sucking in several longer and 'oh my god I'm not actually going to die' breaths, Dan assessed his situation.

Lucifer weighed a _ton_ when he was passed out cold. Really, most people did, but his bedmates had never been that muscular before. He didn’t recall falling asleep this way. He sort of remembered passing out really hard. He coughed hard and felt his ribs protest. Still nothing from the dead weight on his back.

He wouldn't put it past Lucifer to break in and...something...but this was just weird.

Lifting one arm from flat on his stomach (Also not his favorite position to wake up in, but whatever), he blindly pushed at the weight. The wing moved with him, a little. “Luce…“

No response. 

_Asshole._

“Get your feathers out of my butt.”

That should have at least earned him a chuckle. Honestly. And he could _definitely_ feel feathers along his hindquarters.

Dan wiped the sleep from his eyes, pushing weird dreams out of his head, “Dude, seriously, I need to-”

The nearest feathers were yellow. The color somewhere between 'mustard' and 'fake lemon pudding filling'. 

He blinked. 

Lucifer doesn't have _yellow_ wings.

His chest tightened and he _has_ to move. He wedged his elbows under his chest, intending to dislodge whoever was on top of him. With a shove up and back, he nearly threw himself off his own bed. Pain lanced through his muscles as he caught himself with a wrench. Flailing wildly, he flapped once to stabilize himself, causing curtains to billow, scattering pillows and breaking something ceramic or glass by the bed.

_What. The. Fuck._

* * *

Lucifer's phone buzzed for attention. He hadn't thought Daniel would be particularly _needy,_ yet here he was, calling first thing. 

Well. He knew he was addictive. 

“Good morning, Daniel. If you’re calling to invite me-”

_“What did you do to me?”_

“Rude. I think you know perfectly well what I did to you. You were completely sober and everything. Would you like me to come back over and jog your memory?” Dan couldn’t appreciate it, but he added a seductive leer to go with the tone.

Chloe definitely didn’t appreciate it, eying him suspiciously.

 _“Dude. Not that._ **_This_** _.”_

Lucifer assumed Daniel was gesticulating wildly, but it was hard to tell from where he sat. Chloe looked up at him from her desk, no doubt very curious about the combination of words he’d just uttered. He held up a ‘just a moment’ finger to her.

“ _That_ is not at all helpful. I’m not a mindreader, contrary to popular belief. Then again, I could say quite a lot about ‘popular belief.”

The other detective sounded agitated. _“How am I supposed to go to work like this? I have a stakeout later tonight!”_

“I can honestly say I have no idea what you’re on about.”

Chloe put her chin in her hand. “Lucifer…Is that Dan? What’s going on?’ her eyes got huge, “did you sleep together?”

_“Is that Chloe? Fantastic. Why not put the call on speakerphone so-”_

Lucifer, being a good Devil, did just that.

_“-The whole precinct can hear you were at my place last night… Lucifer?”_

Chloe coughed loudly. “Uhm. Dan?”

_“Shit. He just did that didn’t he? Dude, I did not mean that literally. I need you to come back and deal with this!”_

“Well, how was I supposed to - alright, fine,” he put the device back up to his ear. “It’s just me. What’s the issue, exactly?”

Something crashed in the background at Dan’s place. _“How do you not know what the issue is?_ ”

“Well, you won’t bloody tell me, will you? And don’t say ‘blue balls’, as you know damn well-”

He pulled the phone away from his head as Dan blew air into his side of the phone, echoing painfully. “ _I can’t believe - Lucifer, I have wings._ ”

He frowned. “I’m waiting for the part where you forgot to say ‘buffalo’ or some such.”

“ _They have feathers! And they’re huge! And I keep breaking things!_ ”

His face stilled. “Daniel, if you’re somehow secretly one of my brothers-”

_“I seriously doubt it. Also, ew.”_

“Quite.”

Chloe waved to get Lucifer’s attention, “what is happening with Dan? If he can’t pick up Trix, he should call me, not you.”

“ _Get away from Chloe! Wait, does she know?”_

“Again, rude. You mean, does she know what we did last night?”

_“About everything? Your wings?”_

“Well, I’ve told her about them often. She even helped me look for them when-”

The Detective snatched the phone from his fingers. “Dan? What’s going on?”

There was a massive sigh on the other end. _“Chlo’ - Lucifer is_ _the_ _literal Devil, yes or no?”_

“What? What did he do to you - nevermind, I don’t want to know. Are you getting Trixie after school or not?"

_"I'll take that as a 'no' and the answer to your question - that depends on if Lucifer can fix my problem.”_

“Did you sleep with him?”

There was a distinct sound of facepalming. _“If I say yes, will you give him the phone back please?”_

“Seriously?”

 _“_ ** _Chlo’._** Please."

Lucifer got his phone back far more delicately than she got it from him. “Daniel, I don’t suppose it can wait?”

A heavy pause preceded a photo appearing. A selfie of Dan’s (annoyed) face, neck, shoulders, and the fluffy front side of a pair of yellow wings, arching out from his back and puffed up like a surprised cat. Thankfully, the phone was angled so no one else saw it.

Lucifer promptly deleted it and excused himself. 

Chloe rolled her eyes.


	3. How to Train Your Angel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lucifer's POV. He really does try to help.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A wild timely update appears!

Lucifer had gone through a dozen possibilities before pulling up at Dan’s front door. ‘Secret Angelic Brother’ was too high on the list to ignore and also far too anxiety-inducing and distracting of a thought to come up with much else. 

He’d seen Daniel’s bare torso before and hadn’t noticed anything. He hadn’t been looking for wing pockets back then, but they would have stood out to his senses - but then again, that was back when he didn’t have wings himself and his powers may have been impacted, at least somewhat.

This had to be the work of the fae, a petulant gimmick to fuck about with him, knowing his feelings would be affected, or at least his reactions to finding his would-be lover sporting a brand-new set of limbs reserved for immortals, and a type inherent to Dad’s children. 

Fairy wings would have been much more convenient. Dragon or bat wings would have been close enough to demon to ignore or perhaps even enjoy to some degree.

Angel wings - that was just _unacceptable_. 

Which was likely the point. 

He’d found a human who didn’t recoil in instant horror, and now the idea of handling him in an intimate fashion became... well, probably a feeling quite similar to anyone who saw his devil skin.

He could deal with this. He’d just have to go back to the bar tonight, find Puck and make her fix this. Easy as pie.

He rubbed his palms together to dry them a bit and went in. “Daniel?”

Wrapped up in his largest blanket, Dan had curled up on his couch, looking like the most awkward angel-ritto ever. The wings made large curves over his head, cramped under the fabric, with only his face and neck visible. He had something mindless on the telly, trying to distract himself. 

_Likely -_ _Hopefully_ _-_ _not actually_ _an_ _angel_. 

He walked straight up to Dan and pulled back the blanket until it revealed skin, and pinched an arm. The human protested, yanking back and flinching.

The response was angry and immediate. “FUCK! Ow! What the _hell_?”

“Alright, good. You aren’t an angel. I’m glad that’s settled.”

“How the fuck do you know?” Clearly, Daniel had not calmed down in the slightest in the time he drove over.

“Angels _can_ hurt each other, but I opted not to use my full strength in case my theory was correct. Thank Dad it is. I don’t need to find out I’m in an incestuous relationship.”

Dan opened his mouth and closed it again. “Are we in a relationship?”

He scoffed. “I hope so. I don’t do what I did last night for just anyone. Now let me see the _issue.”_

He got a pointed glare in return, but it softened. Dan’s eyes really were quite pretty when they weren’t glittering with anger. Well, then too, honestly, but more so when his mental process caught up and he let his guard down, and the blanket, tucking it around his waist self-consciously. The lower half of the wings fell behind the couch, almost gripping it to stay close to Dan’s body. 

His ever-present libido warred with Dan's revealed, unclothed skin and the view of the wings sprouting from his back. The front sides sported an almost cloyingly vibrant yellow that wasn’t fully present in the photo - the camera didn’t do him justice, really. From his standing position, he could see a hint of rich blue edging that ran all along the top..

It's actually very pretty. The top feathers caught some of the morning light through the window, revealing some green tones in their translucence. 

He started to make a joke, but looked more seriously at Dan's distraught face. "I assure you, those were not there when I left last night. Did they grow since then or were they just there this morning?”

He hunched and the wings responded, curling inwards slightly more. The feathers calmed down since the cellphone photo, appearing smooth now. Lucifer had no urge to touch them; an ingrained reaction from millennia of wing etiquette - do not touch another’s wings unless invited to do so. He’d never seen an angel with quite that coloring - making Puck either more knowledgeable than he thought or maybe just lucky. 

Dan didn’t ask him to touch them yet. And even then, it would be the furthest thing from ‘sexual’ he could imagine. 

If she really had wanted to fuck with him - or known how to do so -, she would have made the wings Michael’s raven black or Gabriel’s patchy dove grey. It was equally possible that something in Daniel had picked the coloration. That would be more like Puck - fae were always a little erratic and her wild magic would do half the work for her. 

The maybe-not-totally-now-human shivered. "I woke up with them. What am I supposed to do with these things?"

"Can you control them? Put them away?"

"I have no clue. I'm kind of freaking out here. Can you… do anything?" Daniel reached out, wanting contact but unsure what kind. 

Lucifer took his hand and Dan relaxed a little, leaning up. Dan ran his thumb over Lucifer's knuckles, seeking reassurance but unable to voice the need.

"If you permit me to touch you, I might be able to force them to furl, as long as you have pockets for them.” He chuckled dryly, “you know, it was your ex I suspected of being a secret angel, not you."

Daniel looked helplessly down at the floor where his discarded jeans lay. "Yeah, no one would ever mistake _me_ for one." 

Lucifer agreed, "of course not."

For some reason, Dan glared at him, despite volunteering the statement himself. He huffed, "I guess I can admit that out of the two of us, Chloe is about nine thousand times more likely to be an angel."

A shiver ran up his spine. "Considering how often I got myself off to her breasts, I was sincerely relieved she wasn't."

Dan groaned. "You know, I've punched more guys in bars for saying things like that than I ever would have thought would be a thing."

"Well, maybe you could be after all. You might be surprised how often angels fight."

“They do?”

“Not a lot in the way of entertainment up in the Silver City. Not a lot of drinking, no sex at all, so tournaments and music were what we had. Some plays too, but they were all about ourselves, so, dreadfully boring.”

"So? This?" His wings visibly relaxed, drooping slightly. 

"Right. Pop up and turn around. I’ll try not to _manhandle_ you too much, unless you want me to, that is.”

Dan flushed, looking Lucifer up and down for a moment before grunting agreement. 

Dan pulled on the hand he held, and Lucifer tugged him up to his feet easily. Dan licked his lips and bent his head up to steal an uncertain kiss. Lucifer flinched, opening the space between them with an apologetic, if sour, look. "Sorry, we need to get those at least put away so I don't feel like I might be making out with my brother."

The look on Dan's face alone was enough to make him regret his words, but he was already turning away. Unaware of his personal space, he nailed Lucifer in the shoulder with the leading wing. Dan muttered an apology but didn’t look at him.

Lucifer started to reach between the sapphire blue feathers on the backside of the new wings, but paused. He hadn't touched anyone like this - _like this_ since before The Fall. His hand hovered inches from skin, taking long enough that Dan looked back, again forgetting that the wings followed his body, and accidentally forcing them into contact with Lucifer's hands.

The Devil jumped backward, sick to his stomach and adrenaline shooting throughout his system. Dan sighed at the brief touch, only slightly aware it was a problem.

"Lucifer?"

His throat worked for a second before words came out. It felt like an eternity. "This is a terrible idea."

"Dude, I literally can't deal with these on my own. They're hot and heavy and I don't know anyone else who could help. My neck is already killing me and if I don’t get a shower soon, I think that I’m going to vomit.”

The hesitation broke with the relief of a name. "Amenadiel."

His shoulders fell, the entire length of the wings rippling down from them. "Oh, right. Uhm. I hadn't processed that far."

Lucifer sat back on his heels. "You know, I'll just ring him. Perhaps I should return to work. He could be over in a jiffy to help you."

Daniel’s voice dipped, harsh and gutted, "please don't go."

The softness hit him. He knew barely concealed terror when he heard it. Swallowing his own instincts screaming at him to find someone else to deal with the problem, he let his hand again hover between Dan’s shoulder blades, a bare inch from either side of arching wings. 

Dan held still this time, his neck muscles twitching and trying to look back, but stopping himself. Lucifer became vaguely aware that Dan had tightly crossed his arms in front of his body. 

The skin was warm. Like last night - before this happened, whatever it was. The familiarity helped. Dan’s breath hitched at the mild touch, his back whip-cord tense. Lucifer noted his breathing was forcibly even and unusually loud in their space. Blue feathers fought gravity, tense at the roots and folding out and up with each breath. The ones on the right brushed his pinky finger. 

He willed himself not to jerk away. He deliberately rested his palm on Dan’s spine, pressing his senses into him and almost immediately finding the accompanying pockets that normally held wings. The fae who bore responsibility for this absurdity at least gave him that to go with them. “Right, Daniel,” and words came out before he intended them, but today was a day for reactions, apparently. “Try to relax.”

An odd emotion came with them, and he almost stopped to analyze it, but Dan prompted him, “yeah? What are you doing back there anyway?”

He put it away for later. “You have them, angelic storage spaces for your wings. Before you ask, it’s not uncommon for magical beasts to have such things - or it wouldn’t be uncommon if they still existed in any quantity. Fairies don’t or, well, didn’t - but they’re shapechangers. In a fae’s true form, the wings are always out. Dragons and many other larger creatures have retractable wings - more than a few pegasi hide among horses. Uriel suspected that the existence - or lack -of pockets were size-based, but he always spent more time on the details…” Lucifer trailed off, unintentionally absorbed in the memory of Uriel watching a swarm of tiny fae - predicting exactly where they would alight next, though their flight patterns looked chaotic and random to his brother. 

It was probably where he began to learn to hone his skills.

“Great, Newt, now what?”

“Sorry?”

“Harry Potter - the universe anyway. We can have that movie marathon night another time. Nevermind, just, what are we doing about it? I’m going a little crazy here...”

Lucifer dropped his hand and Dan nearly arched his back to follow it. “Splendid. So, just put them away, then.”

Dan’s head turned to look at him, then he remembered to keep facing forward as he felt the wings respond to his motion again. “ _How?_ ”

“It’s like wiggling your fingers. You don’t think about it, you just _do it_.”

Dan huffed, and to his credit, the wings actually flexed. Slightly.

“Well, that didn’t work.” Lucifer frowned. “Right then,” he shrugged out of his jacket and rolled up his sleeves. “This might be uncomfortable.”

“What might?”

Lucifer clamped his jaw tightly, mentally bracing himself and grabbed the highest joint of the wing on his right. Dan let out an undignified totally-not-a-shriek and whipped around, pressing his wings back against the couch and glaring. “You gotta tell me what you’re trying to do!”

“I _said_ it would probably be uncomfortable!”

“You wanna tell me what you’re doing first? Before you do it? These things apparently came with a whole new set of nerve endings and I’m not used to it...” The look on his face said he was contemplating ‘getting used to it’ and wasn’t thrilled with the idea.

Lucifer couldn’t blame him. Wings were bloody annoying.

He sighed, waving a hand absently. “A sibling sprained a wing once and couldn’t get it back in, and needed help doing so.”

Yellow and blue wings furled in around Daniel, protectively. Reluctantly, he asked, “so, you’ve done this before?”

Lucifer admitted, “well, I saw it done. I’m not the angel of _healing_. But it looked simple enough.”

Dan tilted his head up, and Lucifer _felt_ the eye-roll directed at him. “Fine. Just, go easy?” he turned again, carefully not smacking Lucifer around with the wings - again. 

Gently this time, Lucifer took a hold of the top of the wing and felt new bones under flesh and feathers. He couldn’t get a good grip without sinking his fingers in, down to the skin. Dan sucked in a hard breath, one with a different timbre than before. “Daniel?”

The skin on Dan’s neck flushed red. “Yeah, huh. I’ll be fine. Yup.”

Well, that was interesting. He managed to grip the wing in both hands, and - he wasn’t really sure what happened next, honestly. He dragged a mental image of how his own wings vanished into seemingly nothing and pushed the joint toward Dan’s back. The wing folded a little, inching inwards. He gave it a harder shove.

To his immense relief, the wing shrank and closed up under the skin. Dan shuddered violently, clutching the pillows of the couch with white knuckles. “Shit. That felt weird. Like shoving a big comb into my back.”

“I suppose I’m just used to it. You’ll learn how to control it, eventually, I assume, and also assuming I can’t get this undone.”

Without intervention on his part, the second wing joined the first, vanishing from sight and whipping away fast enough to nearly cut Lucifer’s fingers. “Watch it!”

Dan slumped with relief, off-balance from the sudden weight change and letting out a shuddering breath. “Thank you.”

“I didn’t do the second one, you did.”

He protested, “I didn't even do anything!”

“They do tend to have a mind of their own...” Lucifer could forgive his tone for the view of his now wingless back. Now that he looked, the twisted blanket that had been hiding his lower half had crumpled around his hips and legs, revealing tanned skin. “Much better, indeed.”

The looked for kiss came in the form of Lucifer running his hands down Dan’s arms and pressing lips against his neck. Dan responded well, leaning back and rubbing his shoulders against Lucifers’ chest. His shoulderblades wiggled slightly, a downright unnerving reaction that definitely did not come from fully human partners. He drew back so fast, Dan fell backward off the couch, his wings springing out fully and cushioning him - except for his head, which cracked on the floor. 

“What the hell, Luce!?”

Dread soaked into his stomach, only partially mitigated by Dan’s seemingly out of the blue nickname-calling. “I… may not be able to do sexy things to you while you’re this way. Wings in or out.”

“Well, we haven’t gotten there yet, anyway.” Dan rubbed the back of his head, twisting to get a better look at the wings as he stood up. After not looking at them for as long as possible, he got a flash of himself in a mirror. “Wait a second. Am I a fucking _parrot_?”

“Don’t be ridiculous. You’re a human, with wings. Perhaps less human than before, hard to say as yet.” As an afterthought, and trying to be helpful, he added, “they’re quite striking, actually.”

He looked only slightly mollified. “Really? The front looks piss-yellow.”

“Hues of the back of the wings go well with your eyes.”

Dan twisted in place this time to catch a view of the bay-blue feathers, still unnervingly parrot-like, but he could finally look at them without feeling like he was going to have a full meltdown. He took a full breath, reminding himself he had things to do today and couldn’t afford to be trapped in his own apartment by a magic party trick. 

Either the wings had gotten lighter or he was adjusting to the weight. He tried rolling his shoulders, but nothing happened. He concentrated, trying to find the new muscles within himself, to contract them, but they didn’t want to cooperate. He hung his head, frustrated and looking alarmingly like he was about to cry.

“Daniel…” Lucifer closed the distance and embraced him, holding his waist clear of the wings. Dan hugged him, burying his face against Lucifer’s neck. 

With a colossal amount of internal resolve, Lucifer squeezed him back, keeping his eyes shut to preserve an illusion of Dan being nice and normal. He could feel Dan’s center of gravity, moved with the wings out, his balance off. “Alright, well, if you have the blades here, we can always slice them off.”

Dan recoiled, his wings furling up and vanishing almost violently, slamming into his back with enough force to rock him up against Lucifer’s body. “What? No?”

Lucifer opened his eyes again, looking down. “I suppose if you lack the healing abilities of being a true angel, it might-”

“How about we find another way. I saw what you looked like, remember? Even if they’re not-” He abruptly broke off, looking away uncertainly. “Trixie?”

“Is your offspring here? I thought you had to deal with her later today?”

“No, not yet. I do...but she’s not here. I thought I heard - anyway, nevermind. I don’t need an extra layer of going crazy. No more cutting off wings - for me _or_ you.” he managed to tighten his arms around Lucifer just a little. “Even if the scars were kinda sexy.”

Lucifer purred in his throat. “You thought so? Few of my lovers did,” he bent for a peck, slipping a hand a little lower on a pajama-clad hip. He could still feel them, still sense the new wings quivering just a little in their pockets, ready to spring free once again. While acid threatened to rise in his throat, Dan had no such qualms, leaning up for a longer kiss. 

With warring emotions, Lucifer broke it off. “Right then, no sense in causing the buggers to leap free. That's enough premature unfurling for today.”

“Okay, what happens if they do? Can you stay with me? I have no idea if I can make it through work today without something happening."

“...I believe the detective needs me back at work. I suppose if you want to come in early…”

“Yeah, I just need a shower and to get dressed. I can probably get assigned to Chloe's caseload."

Lucifer bit his lip not to respond with a shower related comment and Daniel actually looked a little hurt. Weakly, he said, “you could give us a show if you want."

He got an eye-roll in response, but at least Daniel seemed to be in better spirits. His once again wing-free backside looked normal and lovely. 

Except for the pockets, visible only if one had the senses for it, and knew what to look for. And he did.

_Sigh._

He thought about adding something sly along the lines of 'don't touch yourself, the wings might try to help' but assumed he wouldn't need such a warning. 

He took a seat in a chair to wait and text the Detective a carefully worded update.

A few minutes after the water started running in the bathroom shower, he heard the tile crack as something - a pair of somethings - very solid slammed into them.

_"Son of a bitch!"_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm going on vacation this afternoon, but I have a complete chapter 4 ready for next week. Woohoo.


	4. Back to work

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dan tries to have a normal day at work. He mostly succeeds. Lucifer completely didn't notice Chloe's lack of ring earlier. 
> 
> Not really a case-fic.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here there be Angst.

Dan swore, grabbed for the shower curtain, got a handful of the slick, white sheet and pulled the entire thing down on top of him - bar and all - as he slipped and fell on his ass with a loud clatter. The wings didn’t like being sat (or fallen) on, and jerked into his back once again after their brief outing, leaving him staring up at the ceiling, water coming down on his face and toes pressed up against the opposite side of his shower wall with various parts of him now bruised, or hurting.

He was about 60% sure that the wings didn’t like him either. Whatever the fuck that meant. 

He was both annoyed and relieved Lucifer didn’t come in to check on him.

* * *

Dan couldn't _not_ think about them.

His brain was a constant stream of _don’t pop out, don’t pop out, don’t pop out._

Honestly, there was no way he was going to get through today in any capacity without making the news. 

_Man-Parrot accidentally decapitates valuable crime scene witness._

Did Lucifer experience this?

Probably not. He had...who knew how much time already to figure out how to deal with these things on multiple...planes? _God._

He probably had a comic book collection in storage that might have useful information. 

_Oh, hello Professor X. No, I don’t have any superpowers. Just the wings. They don’t do anything. Probably. Because some asshole fairy decided to cock-block me with magic._

Not that he even knew if he was ready for such things. But still.

Would he or they be able to find the damn 'fae', now that that was a thing too, something he hadn't spent a great deal of time on, all things considered, but it had only really been a couple of hours.

_Shit. Do I need to tell Trixie? Would Amenadiel turn up and help me too?_

**_Can I fly?_ **

He kept most of the questions slash insanity to himself. He didn't want to try anything with the wings until he could at least keep the Godda-motherfuckers from springing free.

Lucifer drove, stopping for coffee - the only point he could ask questions during the trip to work. He had so much to think about and not a great deal of time to process it. The wind whipped around his head, ruffling the shit out of his hair but ignoring Lucifer's as if they weren't traveling over the speed limit(s) with the top down.

He knew he didnt have long to voice a question before pulling back out into traffic and losing the ability to be heard over everything. What he wanted to ask was _How do I keep them in?_ What came out of his face was, “do angels have wings when they’re born?”

Lucifer looked over with a look of trained patience, answering, “angels aren’t _born_ , love, Mum and Dad created us, more or less all at once. Human physics would put our ‘birth times’ apart by less than the time it takes to _think_ about snapping your fingers. Time is relative to the plane or place or universe.”

“But you’re what, the oldest? Youngest?”

“Somewhere in the middle. Amenadiel was first, but not an archangel. Myself and Michael are considered twins, though we look nothing alike.”

Dan belatedly realized the woman handing over the coffee cups through the pay window was clutching them with white knuckles. He changed the subject. “Chloe really doesn’t know, does she?”

Lucifer handed him the coffee and a bag of donuts to carry and started to pull off into traffic. “No. I intend to keep it that way. Few humans do. Charlotte and my therapist and now you. I suppose the Lieutenant counts as well, but he's known for quite a while," Lucifer smiled and chucked at what apparently was some kind of joke. "Eons you might say.”

“Wait, what,?” but he was cut off by the wind and engine again. 

_Fuck._

* * *

He dropped off his coffee at his desk, said a very distracted ‘hi’ to Chloe and debated on his next move. 

Dan saw that Ella had a huge pair of sunglasses on. That bore investigation. And she usually had something helpful or insightful to say.

Belatedly (this seemed to be a morning for that), he remembered that there were other things going on in life outside of his own weird-ass problems. He detoured to check on her before bothering the Lieutenant. He adjusted his jacket as he walked, consciously aware of his new, weird, center of gravity and working to keep himself from bouncing along on his toes.

Even when they weren’t out, the damn things ‘weighed’ something. 

He idly reflected that it might be hell on his workout routine.

“You okay?”

Ella asked him the same time he asked her. She groaned loudly, responding first, “dude, I had the best night and the worst morning. Actually, _Chloe_ had the worst morning.”

 _Not worse than mine._ “Oh come on, didn’t you guys have a huge party last night? Hang-overs are part of the deal. You should have waited for a long weekend anyway - I could tell you about my bachelor party sometime if you want to be bored to death.”

“You haven’t seen Chloe yet?”

“I said hi, but that was all. I came in early even though I have a late night again tonight; the stakeout that won’t end. Lucifer is going to keep me company at least.”

She hesitated. “Oh. Huh.”

“What about Chloe?”

Her face broke. “Oh, God. I screwed everything up.”

He tried very hard not to wince at every mention of ‘god’. He didn’t think he was successful. “Did something happen? She looked okay.”

Ella leaned in close to whisper, “She broke it off with Marcus!”

Dan totally did not jump up and down. Instead, he cleared his throat. “I’m surprised Lucifer didn’t say anything when he picked me up.”

"He didn’t even notice! I’m sure Chloe was going to say something, but he got your call and flew off. Is that why you look weird?”

“How do I look weird?”

She finally smiled a little, a nice change from near-tears, “well, you look like you have a _new boyfriend._ ”

“I don’t - oh, the speakerphone thing? I mean, maybe? It’s way too early to call it that. But what happened with Chloe?”

Ella pointed. Apparently, Lucifer finally noticed, as he looked… somewhere between pleased and pensive as he stood at Chloe’s desk, speaking with her.

_Ah, fuck._

“What’s wrong, buddy?”

 _Is it that obvious?_ “It’s definitely too early for ‘boyfriend.’”

She tipped her sunglasses up. “I mean, they’d be cute, but she wouldn’t have gotten together with Marcus if she wanted Luce, right? I mean, he proposed and she said _yes_.”

“Yeah, because people do sane things around here.”

Ella punched him in the arm. His shoulders twitched a little in protest but the wings stayed put. He had no idea what would happen if they tried to spring out while he was wearing clothing. Something _else_ to ask Lucifer if he remembered later. 

“I know he doesn’t exactly have a stable track record, but he ran off from work for you. That has to mean something.”

“I guess it might be a bad day to ask the boss if I can work with Chloe and Lucifer today.”

“Honestly, he probably wouldn’t notice if you just re-assigned yourself. He’s keeping a low profile. I haven’t seen him come out of the office since he got here. You can corner him later on.”

“Okay, thanks for the heads up. I guess I should say something to Chloe. Is she okay?”

“I haven’t...I mean, do you think she hates me?”

“What for? It’s not your fault.”

“I just got really excited about being a friend-aunt.”

His heart skipped. “Wait, what? Is that why it was going to be so fast? Uh, is she?”

“Nooooo, I just got excited about future beautiful Pecker babies. I wouldn’t have let her drink if she was. It would have been a completely different party, dude, give me some credit.”

_Not that it would matter, of course, or be any of his business. But... Pecker? Really?_

And...

_Trixie had always wanted a brother or sister._

They even tried a couple of times for another kid, but it just didn’t happen. They had Trixie already, so it wasn’t exactly a huge deal, but still.

_It won’t happen with Lucifer._

He shook it off. For now. No point in being greedy or counting chickens and eggs and all that.

All that matters is that she made the right choice for herself now, even if it wasn’t a great one, to begin with, with Pierce.

_Did she say she wanted another kid? Did she tell Ella that?_

“I’m sure she’s not mad at you. You should talk to her.”

“I mean, you were okay with her marrying him, right?”

 _Marrying? Yes. Him? No._ “I’d like to see her happy.”

“Yeah, me too. You and Lucifer are _super_ cute by the way.”

Dan’s neck got warm. “I mean, you haven’t even-we just-”

She slugged his shoulder again. “You better hang on to him. Chloe might start getting ideas.”

* * *

Dan casually walked by Chloe’s desk indecisively until she sighed loudly and waved him over. “It’s okay, Dan.”

“Hey, sorry I didn’t say anything this morning.”

“It’s fine, really. It’s not a big deal.”

_It’s a big deal. It doesn’t matter. Are you okay?_

_Are you still in love with Lucifer?_

“Okay.”

_I have fucking wings now. Too._

“Can we talk about it later?”

“Door’s always open.” 

* * *

Dan slowly went crazy until the afternoon. He had one run-in with Marcus, who also looked at him funny - or maybe Dan just imagined it. The Lieutenant waved him off, distractedly agreeing to his lamely worded request to transfer cases before vanishing for the rest of the day. 

Pierce had never liked Dan. 

How did Pierce know, but not Chloe?

Shit. Did Pierce _need_ to know for some reason? 

He had to borrow Chloe’s car, as Lucifer drove him to work and wasn’t about to let him borrow the 2-seater to pick up Trixie. 

At the last second, she went with him, taking a break from their crime scene. 

Normally, he wouldn’t care - might even be happy about it - but today, she obviously had some other things on her mind. He couldn’t talk about the wings, so maybe sitting and listening to someone else’s problems would keep him from circling his own mind overmuch.

He felt trapped in the driver’s seat but had no real other options. He’d never been good at refusing her anything, and he felt like an asshole for even thinking about trying to avoid her, especially today.

She thumbed her ring-finger on the same hand, reminding him of when she used to wear his ring. Their rings. She was probably thinking about Pierce rather than him. After ten years of marriage, they both had matching ring scars that remained over a year later. Without meaning to, he thumbed his finger where it used to rest too, then made himself stop. 

_Lucifer wouldn’t want to get married. The concept alone was preposterous. Not that there was a priest alive who would do the ceremony._

_‘Do you, Dan Espinoza, take Lucifer Morn-Wait, what?’_

He forced himself not to laugh with Chloe sitting there, but distracted himself with that thought while she continued to gather hers. Not that he could consider that anything long-term might actually happen with Lucifer. It was far more likely that Lucifer will get bored with him - after all, how could he compete with someone already lifetimes old? But he could hope. And he wasn’t out of that yet. 

He wondered if she had planned on a big wedding or a courthouse stop with Pierce. It didn’t matter now. 

She rode for five minutes in silence, fidgeting with her phone. Finally, she said, “you look different.”

Did he look different? “You’re the third person to say that today.”

“Not _bad_ different.”

“We haven’t slept together yet. I just really needed him back on the phone.”

She bit her lip. “What was the emergency, anyway?”

 _Wings._ “...Look, I don’t mean to pull a _Lucifer_ on you here, but, I can’t really say. At least not yet.”

“Is it serious?”

“Kinda.”

She blew out, a hard sigh. “I think I’m going to lose my mind if both my partners shut me out. I’ve been dealing with Lucifer’s _Luciferness_ for a while now. I’m used to him pushing me away at the worst possible times and then trying to make up for it,” her hand went to her pocket, playing with something there, between her fingers. She took her hand back out, empty. “I don’t know if I can take it from you too.”

What could he tell her? Hell, maybe she could even help - they were both detectives, for fuck’s sake. “I had a...development. Last night, we ran into an acquaintance of Lucifer's. She didn’t give her last name, but she’s causing me problems.”

“I assume you don’t mean Candy? Is she stalking you all of a sudden?”

“No, not Candy. Older friend. Or, not really a friend, actually. Maybe a jealous ex, but he didn’t say they were ever together.”

She snorted. “He’s been with everybody.”

“Well, I mean, just about, sure. But this woman had a different vibe. Either way, we need to track her down. Do you think you could help us find her?”

Chloe side-eyed him for a second but then nodded. “Yeah, do you need to use the sketch artist? I could set you and Lucifer up today. What’d she do, steal your wallet?”

“Sure, something like that.”

“Dan.”

He hedged. “Let’s just say I could charge her with assault. Not… sexual, or anything, but I do need to find her.”

Her face softened. “Okay, yeah. Sorry. Thanks for telling me. I’ll help however I can, okay?”

Trixie looked delighted to spot both her parents in the front seat of Chloe’s car, clambering in behind them in at the pick-up curb. Their daughter settled in, chattering away over school stuff.

Dan's wings fluttered in their _whatever_ things, responding to Trixie's presence.

He had to concentrate on driving and prevent them from, _I don’t know, flapping out inside the car murdering them all in a fiery crash._

_Fucking fairies._

* * *

Dan said hello to the now-familiar babysitter who watched Trixie most afternoons. Chloe would be back home again in a few hours. Dan wouldn’t get to see her again until the weekend, which gave him both a bit more breathing space while leaving a bittersweet lump in his throat.

He asked Chloe for a few minutes alone, which she granted with a wave - not that he _had_ to ask but he wanted to be polite, while she was sorting out whatever with the sitter.

Trixie dropped her backpack in her room and gave her dad another _look._ “You look different.”

“Yeah? How so?”

“Dunno. Just different. What d’you wanna talk about?”

He was not going to survive this week.

There was no point in telling her about the wing problem, not if they found Puck and got her to undo whatever she had done to him. There was definitely no point in telling her about Lucifer being _Lucifer_ if the dating thing didn’t work out. 

“...How’s school?”

“Y’know. Good. How’s mom?”

 _Oh right._ “I think she’s going to be okay. I don’t know if it means Marcus isn’t coming over or not anymore, though. They might still be friends, like mom and I are still friends.” His stomach twisted a little at the thought - two people in her life knowing the truth about Lucifer, but not Chloe, and not Trixie. 

It didn’t feel right.

“You think Lucifer will start coming back over here again, maybe?”

 _Would it be weird if I said, I hope not?_ “You’d have to ask him. You’ve got his number, right?”

“He didn’t wanna give it to me, and mom doesn’t want me to give my number out.”

“Yeah, she’s smart about that. Make sure you listen to her, okay? We might hang out this weekend? I got Lucifer to play a board game, and he might want to do it again.”

“...I think I’m getting too old for _Monopoly_.”

“Nah, _Settlers._ You liked that one too.”

She brightened up. “Sure! Is he going to sleep over too? I’d rather have breakfast with him instead of Marcus.”

“Er. I don’t know yet. It’ll probably be just us.”

“That’s okay too.”

“Can I get a hug?”

The urge to let the wings loose and curl protectively around her with his arms hugging his child was nearly impossible to resist. 

It probably wouldn’t go the way he might hope it would though. 

It rarely does.

* * *

Slightly more prepared this time, Dan bought a bag of hard-shelled tacos that waited in the passenger seat of the van. It was late, almost 10 pm, and per usual, absolutely nothing had happened. Dan encouraged his starting shift partner to take off early, insisting Lucifer wouldn't be horribly late. 

Catherine gave him a secret grin, but happily signed out and left Dan to himself for the next half-hour before Lucifer was due. Technically, he shouldn't be alone for any part of his shift. Technically, jack-shit had happened in 3 weeks of watching the restaurant.

Lucifer turned up, nearly on time, wonder of wonders.

Dan thought he did pretty well not immediately climbing _on_ him. He grabbed Lucifer in a tight hug, wrapping his arms around him with an unwinding coil of relief in his chest.

As it was, the answer to the question ‘do not-really-angel-wings’ go through clothing was ‘yes.'

His wings unfurled and clasped around Lucifer in a tight embrace. Thankfully, the van was big enough to accommodate the move with a minimal scraping of walls and only a few cords snagging and tearing out of equipment.

The Devil just sighed but endured it. “You’re aware this isn’t helpful to my libido.”

“Kinda don’t care. You’re the only person I can even slightly relax around today. I almost did this with Trixie and I still feel guilty about not showing them to her. I don’t know how you manage it every day.” He deliberately relaxed his arms. "I didn't actually mean for them to do _that_. I've been fighting with them all day not to flash everyone."

Lucifer chuckled, "now, no reason to show off. You know as well as I do they won't understand, even though you’ve been doing very well." Lucifer admitted only to himself that the wing-hug wasn’t entirely unwelcome. It had been a very long time since he’d received or given one, and even those were rare. Dan was breaking around a million angelic taboos and he didn’t even know it. Or care. 

It was mildly refreshing. 

He pulled Dan’s head up, cupping his face. He couldn’t quite bring himself to steal a kiss with the wings out and around him too, but at least he could look at Dan without feeling the urge to violently untangle himself. 

He started to pull back and realized his own wings had wrapped around Dan’s, without him doing anything. 

Dan still wasn’t used to the whole thing and hadn’t even noticed, but he seemed to be doing the low purring thing that Lucifer found himself doing from time to time but had thought was absent from humans. 

Without drawing attention to it, Lucifer very gently furled his own wings, mentally commanding Dan not to notice and partially hiding it by stroking soft blue feathers. It wasn’t ideal, but he knew how distracting the action could be.

What he didn’t expect was Dan nearly collapsing on him, aroused and pulling him closer.

With a tug in the wrong direction on Dan’s feathers, like brushing a cat the opposite direction, he got his attention. The wings abruptly pulled back behind Dan, folded and in a resting position.

“Ow!”

“Sorry, not sorry. Still not entirely keen on the whole ‘sort of incest’ vibe going on. At least for me.”

Dan’s wings drooped, touching the floor of the van. 

“Stop that, now. While you have these things, keep them off the floor. They’re hard enough to keep clean as it is.”

They rose again into a resting position and Dan twisted his neck to look at them. “Hey, I did that. On purpose.”

“Good for you. I’ll get you a gold star. No flapping them about until I know you can do it without hurting yourself.”

Dan pulled at his leather jacket that he’d been wearing all day. It seemed to move normally, with only a little bit of existential tugging on the fabric from the wings. “Is that normal?”

It was a little disappointing, actually, to Lucifer - a characteristic of angel wings as opposed to lesser immortal beings. He kept that part back, however - it wouldn’t do to find out his original assumption of ‘secret angel’ had been right all along and Puck had only revealed it rather than actually _changing_ him. “It is. Angel wings pass through human-made fabrics. I once owned holy vestments that draped around them and me - Heaven-made. Mine pass through my own suits or anything else I wear.” and because he was Lucifer, he added, "including fetish wear."

With a few more pulls, Dan shrugged his jacket off his shoulders entirely, passing it right through the wings. He stopped to check it over for tears, pleased to find none. “Oh, that’s neat. And convenient,” he wasn’t looking at Lucifer and didn’t see the wince that ran across his face. “Is there anything else I need to know?”

“I suppose I should re-iterate not to let… _people_ see them. I suspect you’d feel very guilty if someone did and had a bad reaction to them.” He smirked. “One might even suspect you as a representative of Dad. There are all kinds of problems that can occur with a religious crowd.”

"Yeah, I don't want that. My grandma would probably have a heart attack if she saw these." He checked the surveillance to make sure nothing had happened while they were distracted. "I guess that means there really is an angel of death, huh?"

"My sister, Azrael. I haven't seen her in literal ages. She's quite busy, I'm sure. You briefly held two different parts of her blade, actually."

"A blade? Sword thing? I only kind of remember that."

"You actually did very well to not do more than slightly stab me with it. Every other human who came across it killed with it."

"Shit. What was the other part?"

"Amenadiel's necklace, the part that bound the blade's three parts together. Two of them are gone now and Amenadiel has his necklace back."

“What are you the angel of, anyway?”

Lucifer stiffened. “I’m not. Of anything.”

He realized his mistake, wincing. He bit his tongue. Instead, he asked, “I guess I’m not really either, am I? These things are just borrowed, right?” he groaned. “These aren’t, like, stolen, are they? Is there some real angel out there looking for them?”

“Last I was in heaven, there were none with _that_ coloration, so no, I don't think Puck stole them - fae aren't _that_ powerful. Most sets of angel wings resemble birds of prey; solid or patterned colors - nothing this _bright_.” He stopped to reflect. “Well, actually, there was one who had the coloration of a peacock, navy blues and gold-greens."

“What happened?”

He considered not answering. After a moment, he said, “he fell with me. One of a dozen or so who stood with me in the rebellion and were thrown out alongside me as a result. He lost his wings - as did the others - when he fell and became a demon of Hell, but a different breed than that of Mazikeen, who was born, or formed, there."

Dan stayed quiet, but it was a struggle.

"...The most beautiful things she’s seen are on Earth. She will never see what Heaven has to offer.” He shuddered and added casually, “not missing anything if you ask me. Utterly boring.” 

Looking almost reluctant about it, Dan asked, “but you kept your wings?”

“I didn’t open them in Hell unless I had to. Ash gets all through the bloody things. It was more a nuisance for Dad to _not_ take them from me. They were just another set of limbs to burn in the lake of fire.”

Dan’s wings furled up and out of sight. At least this time it wasn’t with an air-displacing snap. 

Lucifer looked a question at him.

“I seem to have more control over them now. I’ve been kind of dying to ask if they’re functional for flight, but I never thought about what they-yours-must have meant to you or why you cut them off.”

With a mild smirk, he answered, “they are. Dragons and other creatures can fly, and they aren’t angels. But I don’t believe you could use yours to plane shift or travel to Hell or Heaven. I rather imagine Dad would step in for _that_. There are no shortcuts for humans. I’d rather you not test them for flight since we still don’t know how functional they are. Yours are smaller than mine - as they should be.”

“With my luck, I’d be shot down by a hunter thinking I’m a weird condor anyway. Not that you're allowed to hunt them, but a law doesn't always stop it."

With his own brand of reluctance, Lucifer offered, “there are places off the coast and up in the mountains that provide pleasant updrafts.”

“Yeah?”

“I could take you to one of them. Assuming we don’t locate Puck soon.” 

"Right. Yeah. I guess you didn't find her at the bar."

"No one even remembers her. Of course. She didn't actually buy anything either, no receipts with any of the names I know her as."

"Look at you, doing real police work - hey, it looks like we actually have a hit here on surveillance."

A camera picked up a shadowy figure moving stealthily in the grungy alleyway next to the target building.

"Let's go."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me: hey, lets write a cute 3 chapter fic where Dan gets wings.  
> My brain: how about we add angst and make it way longer.  
> Me: but-  
> Brain: WHEEEEEEE


	5. I guess they're good for something

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lucifer offers his usual brand of 'help', Dan finds out wings are useful and the two of them almost get some time to themselves.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning for sort-of involuntary tickling

Dan called it in as Lucifer ran around the back, then followed the fleeing suspect. He put his hand on his sidearm and leaped from the van in pursuit.

The suspect froze between the two of them as Lucifer appeared at the other end of the alley to cut him off, moving with inhuman speed from around the corner of the restaurant then coming to a stop. Technically, Lucifer can’t arrest people and to his credit, he _usually_ remembered that fact. 

The guy they were chasing didn’t need to know that.

He didn’t like drawing his weapon if he didn’t need to and the guy looked unarmed but wore a backpack - which could have anything in it. Dan held a hand out, trying to sound reasonable, “hey, what are you doing out here this late at night?’

Instead of answering, the man bolted for a ladder on the opposite wall of the alley from the restaurant, climbing up the fire escape in desperation.

Dan groaned because apparently, there’s _always_ an outside fire escape that no one _should_ be able to reach from the ground, but that someone else left down. 

_Why does this happen to me?_

It made his job both easier and harder. On the one hand, he wouldn’t have to stand around talking to the guy until he slipped up, and it was a clear sign of guilt. On the other, now he had to chase the asshole. 

Lucifer started to climb up after him, but Dan stopped him. “Hang on, I smell something - gas, maybe?”

Lucifer paused, cocking his head and sniffing the air. “You’re correct - the miscreant started a fire back there in the restaurant. Apparently, you’re getting some heightened senses too.”

Without pausing to digest that, he just said, “great! Go deal with that! I got this guy!” without looking back again, Dan pounded up the metal ladder as the figure vanished over the edge of the top of the building. Cursing, he climbed after him and ran as fast as he dared over the shadowed rooftop. The guy skittered on something on the ground but launched himself onto the next building. 

Running to leap after him, he slid on the same loose scree that the suspect already scattered, sending Dan flying off the edge and into the empty space between buildings. His heart rammed into his throat and he saw his death - the very hard and cold concrete driveway too far below - before his eyes. 

His wings had other ideas, flaring out without his input (not a bad thing really, in this case), pumping twice and _throwing_ him the rest of the way across the expanse of air with a couple of good downbeats and slamming him into the suspect, flattening him to the ground. Neither action was intentional - falling directly on the suspect was dumb luck.

The guy lay under him, stunned and unmoving and thankfully not looking anywhere but at the rooftop two inches in front of him. It gave Dan time to command the wings back into their storage place. They actually listened to him, snapping smartly into his back with an odd sense of pride that was not his own. His heart was racing faster than anything and he had to collect himself, controlling his breathing so he didn’t sound like he’d just run a sprint through a haunted house with actual ghosts. 

He went through the routine purely on automatic, stating the Miranda rights and snapping the cuffs on. He stood up shakily, hoping the arrestee didn’t notice anything weird or started yelling ‘police brutality’ for shoving him flat. 

The man had the wind knocked out of him but stood without much grumbling. He didn’t question how Dan caught up to him so fast. 

It brought to mind the things people dismissed about (and around) Lucifer and made him hope the same wasn’t happening to him. 

Dan was no angel. 

Dan pulled him to his feet and took the stairs back down to the street, following behind.

He spotted a six-inch-long, single blue feather resting on the sidewalk outside the door. He quickly grabbed it and stuffed it in his pocket. The still-unnamed suspect looked at him funny. “What are you, a bird-watcher?”

“New hobby. C’mon.”

Lucifer held a plain-looking bottle in one hand and a blackened rag in the other. “Looks like your man tried to burn the place down.”

“Luce, how many times have I told you not to touch evidence?”

“Forty-Seven.”

“Please go put it back *exactly* where you found it, and pra-hope you didn’t smudge any fingerprints, okay?”

“I didn’t, there weren’t any.”

 _Because that’s a thing he can do. See fingerprints._ “Well, now _yours_ are on the bottle, which means someone - probably Ella - is going to find them later and now we have to explain that.”

“They won’t be on it either.”

“Dude, you’re _holding_ the bottle-”

He switched the bottle and rag to one hand and wiggled his fingers at Dan. “Devil. I just remove them.”

“You can’t just…”

The suspect broke in, “is he altering evidence? Cause... Uh. I’ve never seen that bottle before in my life.”

Lucifer put the bottle on the ground and stepped forward, looking down at the man. “Surely, you have.”Dan got immediate goosebumps, feeling Lucifer’s power snap _on._ He stood to the side so he could watch. 

He continued, not looking at Dan and focusing completely on the arrestee, “I’d lay a bet this isn’t the first time you’ve done this sort of thing, is it?”

His eyes went unfocused, his voice took on a yearning quality, wanting to please Lucifer with his answer, but also bragging, “...no, I’m good at it. Never failed to start a fire before. I’m the guy you hire.”

Lucifer responded in warm, silky tones. “fire is my domain. You’ve never contended with the Devil before. I imagine you will again in the future, or at least with whoever takes my place in Hell.”

“...I just needed the money.”

Lazily, he replied. “Don’t you all. How about you be a darling and give us the name of the person who hired you?”

“I don’t have that. I can tell you where I met them though.”

* * *

Dan, finally done for the day - and night - left the precinct building, trailed by Lucifer. The suspect's information turned up no real new leads, but it wasn't surprising no one was there waiting for them with a giant bow on their head and a tag that said, _'I'm the person you need to arrest for doing stupid shit'._ There's always tomorrow.

He stopped in the parking deck, looking around. 

_Balls._

“Hey, can you give me a lift? I forgot I don’t have my car here. And, I need to ask you something.”

Lucifer, who didn’t even _look_ like he’d had as long a day as Dan had, nodded earnestly. “I’m willing to attempt snogging if we can make it through the night without any more incidents.”

“Er,” what he meant to say was ‘hey, speaking of incidents, I flew a little bit just recently.’ what came out was, “your place or mine?”

“Obviously mine.”

* * *

After the ninth twitch from Dan in the passenger seat, Lucifer said, “if you don’t quit fidgeting about, I’m going to drop you off right here.”

“Sorry. I think there’s something lodged in my - whatever. The guy I was chasing kicked up some gravel at me - either accidentally or on purpose and I think it got...in there.” 

“Lovely. I suppose I have to help you deal with them sooner or later. You sure you wouldn’t rather we just chop them off? There’s a nice stretch of beach close by.”

Dan's totally withering look was lost in the darkness.

* * *

"Right then, whip them out.”

Dan took his jacket off first because it just seemed weird not to. He took a long, steadying breath and commanded the wings to appear. 

They didn’t. Of course.

“Normally I’d suggest trying to take the rest of your clothes off, but what I need to do falls more under the category of _brotherly_ love, and I’m not about to get all _Game of Thrones_ up in here. I may have a lot of kinks, but mixing siblings, hot or otherwise, with sex was never one of them."

“Er.”

“ _Fine,_ strip to the waist, I can make them come back out if I need to. Probably - but it will help me see what I need to do to fix you.”

Self-consciously, he pulled his t-shirt over his head. Lucifer breathed in lightly, giving him a gratifyingly long look, before he visibly braced himself, crossed his arms and nodding for Dan to continue.

Naturally, the wings responded only after the shirt came off - or maybe due to a small need to follow Lucifer’s instructions, filling the air behind him with a soft rustle and a rush of relief he felt everywhere. The small, soft feathers closest to his spine brushed his skin with a whisper while the larger ones slid apart to fan in a graceful pair of arches that probably had more to do with Lucifer looking right at him than any voluntary command on his part. 

It was the first time he’d gotten to really _look_ at them properly. Dan’s apartment was too small for them to rest easily and he broke a number of picture frames just trying to move around.

If the wings had any idea what had been done to previous sets of things like them in this place, they indicated no fear of it. 

Dan could see his reflection in the floor-to-ceiling glass walls that led out to the patio, showing him the full width of the wingspan, and spread out to either side of his body, shirtless and in dark skinny jeans. The window reflection wasn’t perfect, but there was no mirror outside a gym that was big enough for this. He could see some dirt along the bottom edge of the longest, outer feathers. He could feel the wings’ slight disgruntlement at being a little dirty. He could feel the feather shafts where they rested out of alignment, an unpleasant feeling akin to dry mud that tightened on skin. The feather rib things had separated haphazardly from getting dragged along the rough roof surface.

Lucifer clucked in disapproval.

Watching himself, he tried to contract the wings a little, to see if he could move them on purpose, rather than just guessing at what might or might not work. If he thought about it, he could feel the new set of muscles that didn’t quite sit right while making minute pulls of his shoulders that tugged here and there. The weight pulled on the sides of his neck, but not badly. There was a tinge of soreness where his wings had truly worked for the first time, akin to having thrown a football hard without practice.

Concentrating now, he could feel the slight air currents in the penthouse as they passed over the top edges of the wings and feathers. He could feel a layer of heat that was trapped between his new flesh and the tight layer of overlapping feathers that ran down both limbs. The mere existence of the thicker feather shafts made him vaguely uncomfortable, an alien feeling of having things the size of toothpicks moving in their pores.

It was as if he could feel every hair of his body at the root, up to every vane where it pulled lightly against gravity.

With an effort, he mentally reached for the end of each wing, asking the tendons to tense and causing the feathers to fluff up like hair standing on end, only with more sensation. He shivered all over as nerves lit up and reacted, dual frissons racing up each new limb to meet in the middle of his back, and drawing his attention to the loose debris that had gotten in the base of one of the wings. 

Dan took a deep breath and let go of those senses as much as possible before he gave into the desire to rid himself of the _weirdness_ by yanking out feathers left and right. He looked at himself again, looking over wings that were too big, but had to be smaller than Lucifers. He let himself see what others might see if he unfolded them in front of people.

“Huh. Wow. I am pretty.”

Lucifer looked them over with a critical eye while Dan twitched again. At least this time he could see which side he had to deal with. “Yes, you’re a very pretty man.”

He reached over to thumb one of the larger front feathers, noting the feedback he got from touching them himself. It was a lot like pulling on his own hair. “I mean, the wings, the yellow doesn’t seem so bad now. Yours are way better, obviously-”

Lucifer grunted. “Right, hold still.”

“What do you-”

Lucifer stepped in behind him, reached _into_ the offending wing pocket and felt around with his fingers. 

It was beyond invasive, like something pushing directly on a lung, or stroking his liver or-

Dan giggled uncontrollably and twitched. 

“I said _hold still!_ ”

He tried to lean away, but Lucifer put his other hand on the top of the opposite shoulder. “Oh my God, they’re ticklish!” He made a completely incoherent sound, trying not to keep laughing in painful spasms, but failing miserably.

It fucking _hurt._ His nerves protested, reflexive and trying to get away, but Lucifer’s grip was iron on his shoulder. “Well, mine _aren’t -_ I need to get this blasted pebble out of you _,_ and I’m going to shove you to the floor if you can’t-”

Dan twisted almost violently and entirely without meaning to.

“That’s it!” Lucifer grabbed him by the back of the neck instead and threw him over the back of the couch, changing his mind from ‘floor’ at the last second in favor of staying standing and not losing his grip.

Dan’s ears reddened as he stiffened rigidly under Lucifer’s grasp. It was distracting enough to make him freeze up and actually hold still. Lucifer found the irritating bit of gravel, pulled it out and flung it away with great prejudice.

It brought their hips into contact, tight jeans and trousers. Dan sighed with a near-moan. “Fuck, that feels good now. It was like having sand in my shoe but ten times worse.”

Lucifer let himself enjoy the contact, the feel of his skin under his fingers for a few blissful seconds before the ‘ick’ factor came back again. Sex and someone _else’s_ wings did not go together. Roughly, he said, “leave them out. I need to show you how to clean them. Don’t get used to the idea that I’m a mother bird or some such.”

The loss of pressure and heat as Lucifer spun away to get whatever supplies left him bereft. He stayed leaning over the couch a moment longer, taking deep, ragged breaths and lingering over a fantasy of just staying there - of Lucifer coming back to pull his belt out of his jeans. Of Lucifer reaching around him, pressing him hard against the back of the couch. 

_I guess that answers the question of ‘how straight am I again?’_

He had no other experience with angel wings. He still hadn’t touched Lucifer’s, at least not when they were intact and alive. Dan still didn’t quite get Lucifer’s anxiety - there was just no way _he_ was an angel. No God in their right mind would have made him one, making the odds of him being Lucifer’s brother (shudder) just about nil.

It was probably the ‘just about’ that was the issue. After all, Lucifer didn’t even _like_ his family.

He’d forgotten he was still braced against the couch when Lucifer came back. 

“Alright, pay attention, now.”

Dan twisted to see Lucifer frowning at the bottom edge of his wings. “What’s wrong?”

“You need to get on a higher surface.”

It took him a second to realize Lucifer meant that he wasn’t going to get on his knees for this. “What if I lie down?”

“Well, you’re not getting dirty feathers on my bed, and the floor doesn’t solve the problem.”

He watched the lowest feathers float in the air, moving with the motion of his body. “What if I bend over more? They should go up higher, right? Like a lever?”

Lucifer made a, ‘well get on with it’ gesture. 

He did, watching Lucifer hesitantly close his fingers around the top of the longest, largest feather and begin stroking it with a warm, damp towel.

A soothing warmth washed over his whole body, low and creeping up his back, starting from the shaft.

He wanted to lean into it, watching Lucifer’s long, strong fingers press the cloth around the end of the feather and wipe it clean. _Holy fuck that feels good._ He groaned with pleasure.

Lucifer growled. “Stop that.”

“Stop what?”

“No praying.”

“I wasn’t-”

“You were. At me.”

“Fuck.”

“Only if you’re very lucky.”

"I _wasn't_ -"

 _Sigh._ "It doesn't _have_ to be intentional, in that sense. You directed your feelings at me, because of me. Proximity sometimes factors."

"But you've had so many partners..."

"Oddly enough, they don't always think of _me_ during sex. It goes without saying I'm a little tired of hearing 'oh, God' during sex out loud. At least if they keep it to themselves, I don't have to _hear_ it in my head. And even when they do direct prayers at me specifically, it's...muddled, probably because they never believe me, who I am." He chuckled, "or I'm good enough at it to distract them sufficiently, but it's probably the former."

He resumed cleaning Dan's lower feathers, but he was systematic about it now - neither gentle nor rough. "Humans _usually_ only talk at Dad, through prayer silently or vocally. Whom, as I hear, ignores them. Beings mentioned by name in various holy books sometimes get messages, if I'm any indication, but Amenadiel isn't in any so doesn't get prayers from humans - might do him some good to see how it feels sometimes. I've communicated via Celestial radio with him from time to time that way, but only if I need to. Or think it will be funny."

Lucifer moved to the next few feathers, smoothing down each one. Dan did his best to keep from responding in any way that might sound sexual, to avoid putting him off. "But you can hear me? Clearly?"

"And a few select others. Occasionally, Satanists. Devil worshippers. The rare priest who believes I can be 'redeemed.’ I can usually ignore it."

Dan snorted. "Like you need to be _redeemed._ "

"Meaning?"

"You may be annoying as fuck, but have done decently good work for the police. Which is one of the things I don't get. As irritating as you can be sometimes, you aren't...evil."

"Careful. I might start thinking you like me."

"I do like you. Now anyway. It has nothing, or almost nothing to do with finding out the truth." Dan thought about his life before bursting in on Lucifer's wing massacre. "Uhm. Yours grew back, right? Doesn't that mean these would too, if we got rid of them?"

"The first time I had them cut off, they didn't come back for five-odd years. The blasted things reappeared again out of nowhere a few months back. I tried cutting them off again right after, but it was no use. They grew back immediately, like the other night. You haven't had yours long, but I'm slightly afraid you may bleed to death if we tried it, since we don't know the full extent of your curse."

"...I kind of accidentally flew, up on the roof tonight. I thought I was going to die."

"...Accidentally?"

"I tripped while chasing the guy and slid right off the side, trying to jump. I would have fallen if the wings hadn't caught me. Don't worry, the would-be arsonist didn't see them."

Lucifer paused, his hands stilling briefly before going back to his task. "I suppose I should be happy I didn't have to go to Chloe and tell her about your untimely death. Depending on your new properties, you might have been able to pull off, what do they call it? a 'super-hero' landing. Let's not try that any time soon, however." He pulled and a feather fell into proper alignment. Dan sighed and relaxed, his wings splayed out and submissive. Lucifer worked quietly for a few minutes, humming something mindlessly as he settled into the routine.

For a long, sweet moment, everything was right in the universe.

_Super-hero might be interesting. Maybe I can pull off having wings in public if I invent a persona._

_That or give rise to a super-villain, since that's what usually happens in movies._

He shoved aside the daydreams and focussed on how Lucifer's hands felt on him, on his new parts. Imagined them exploring more places.

The elevator dinged. Dan tried to pull in the wings but they were very much enjoying Lucifer's deft fingers.

Amenadiel strode out, purposeful steps coming to an abrupt halt at the view. “Luci, there’s a- _What is this?_ ”

Dan tried to straighten up to standing, but the motion bent the shaft of the feather in Lucifer’s fist and he full-body flinched. The hard-on he was only half-heartedly fighting vanished immediately with the wash of discomfort.

The appearance of Lucifer's brother scattered any remaining hope he had in a longer conversation tonight. Plus half his feathers were still unkempt.

His wings flinched as well, but they didn’t want to fold up again completely - not that it mattered at this point. They huddled tightly to his back, curled in and showing more of the outer blue than inner yellow. He got a distinct sense of _nervousness_ that was not his own. “Uhm. Hi.”

Amenadiel stood speechless. Lucifer deliberately kept working and straightened one last feather, with a brief wrestle with his uncooperative wings and likely with an added glare thrown in.

He was distinctly glad Lucifer hadn't been on his knees, but he didn't quite know why.

The brother broke out of his frozen state, stalking up to Dan in way that made him want to run and hide. He only managed to hold his ground because Lucifer was still behind him and he had nowhere to go anyway. And he thought he might wet himself if he considered performing any action at all. 

Amenadiel grasped Dan's face in one hand, leaning dangerously into his space. "Luci. What did you do?" Dan swallowed on a very dry throat, and it hurt.

"Nothing at all. Especially now that you've shown up."

Cold, deep eyes searched his. He looked _angry._ "You're _not_ one of us."

Dan stiffened and finally reacts, grabbing Amenadiel's wrist and pushing him away. "I guess that means you can't order me around then."

Lucifer grumbled, "how would you even know? Or have you regained your power?"

He got a grunt. "I haven't. But he didn't come from Mom. I would have known otherwise when we met."

"Unless Dad hid him, for His own reasons. He is all-powerful and all-controlling."

Dan shuddered as his wings finally furled all the way in. "There is absolutely no way I'm part of your family." He wanted his shirt.

Amenadiel stepped back, looking him over again. "I suppose Mother wouldn't have taken him for a lover if there was any chance of that."

"Who? The only person I've slept with since Chloe is Charlotte."

He agreed matter-of-factly, "yes. The Mother of Angels inhabited her body for a period of time before She departed for her own, new universe. Charlotte is once again, only herself."

_No._

_No. Nope. Nope. Nope. So much nope. Not enough nope in any universe._

He thought he said something.

"Luci must have told you."

"Thought I mentioned it in passing."

"You said Charlotte _knew_!"

"She does. Kept her from going mad, actually. You're welcome."

"You didn't say I _bang-_ "

"I'm trying hard not to think about it myself."

"When Chloe said she was your step-mother-"

"That wasn't exactly correct."

Amenadiel grunted, gesturing at Dan, "regardless, what happened here?"

“We are so coming back to the _mom_ thing.” Dan grabbed his shirt and yanked it on over his head, "and the wings weren't my idea."

"Nor mine, I assure you. Had a run-in with a fairy."

"First _you're_ wandering the earth, now fairies are back?"

"Singular, that I know of. One I'm...familiar with. She currently goes by Puck. You might remember her as Atë."

Dan watched Amenadiel's face make interesting contortions. "That...explains it, I suppose. Will it wear off?"

"Wear off?" Dan glanced between them and doing his best to look like he had any idea what they were talking about. "Like nail polish?"

Lucifer just looked at him curiously.

"I do have a nine-year-old."

"It depends," to Amenadiel, he said, "he's been gaining more control over the sodding feathered things, not less. In general."

Amenadiel sighed, "would you bring them out again, please?"

With a conscious effort, he did, beginning to feel a bit like a living accordion. The position left Lucifer behind the wings and Amenadiel in front. A warm hand stroked part of his unfeathered back soothingly. 

Dan felt a rising response, wanting to lean back into the touch. After a long moment that began to turn awkward, he finally said, "er, do you need to touch them?"

Lucifer gleefully not-whispered, "it's like vampires. You have to give him permission."

"Fine, whatever. You can touch them."

Amenadiel hesitated, reaching slowly to close a hand over the edge near Dan's shoulder. It was warm, like Lucifer's but without any emotional warmth. "They're real."

"As opposed to?"

He let go again, apparently satisfied. "An illusion, or trick. Puck is powerful, but this is still unusual."

"So, they're _not_ gonna wear off?"

"Were you born under a special sign or date? Odd circumstances in your life?"

"I have no idea." He chuckled, "but I was married to Chloe for ten years."

Neither Lucifer nor Amenadiel laughed - he thought he’d get a chuckle at least out of one of them. Instead, they looked at each other, or at least Amenadiel seemed to do so, over Dan's shoulder with a tight stare. The hand on Dan's back dropped slowly. Amenadiel looked at him… ominously. "And you had a child."

 _Duh._ "That's not...weird. Almost everyone does that kind of thing. I came from a huge family, even if Chloe didn’t.”

Amenadiel tilted his head. "Chloe is a miracle. She was only conceived because I blessed her mother, once. Chloe doesn't have any brothers or sisters, because her mother was incapable of having a child, even had she used methods humans have come up with in recent years - it would never have worked. The odds of Chloe going on to have a child herself…"

So apparently his life could get crazier.

Lucifer seemed to agree. "I'll grant you that it should have been unlikely, but I know less about these things than you do, never having fathered a child."

“Nor have I. All I know is that I was given a divine directive, and I carried it out. Chloe is the result. Dan, I don’t suppose either of you also prayed to have a child? Did she have difficulty conceiving?”

Dan was irritated he was asking about personal information like he had a right to it.

His mouth went dry as he processed what Amenadiel said before that. "Chloe is a what now?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the split chapter, but the conversation goes on too long to keep the rest here.
> 
> On the bright side, hey, I'm doing pretty well with consistently having 2 chapters ready to go when I post weekly.
> 
> My brain is sure I'm missing something, here but I can't figure out what.


	6. Pin me down

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Amenadiel, Lucifer, and Dan continue their conversation

"Chloe is a miracle. She only exists because Father Himself sent a blessing through me so that her mother could have a child."

Dan felt irrationally jealous. _Who_ else _knew angels walked the earth? Is there a club? Maybe there's a Facebook support group. Maybe I should start - no, that's a terrible idea. Maybe I should talk to Lucifer's therapist._ "You're saying _Penny_ knows about you and Lucifer?"

Amenadiel shook his head. "No. I met with Penelope and John, but they never knew why, or what I did for them. She remains unaware that her prayer worked - except through her faith. Penelope Decker wouldn't know who Lucifer is unless he revealed himself to her."

Lucifer flicked his hand irritably. "I knew who the Detective's mum was, through her acting career, but only that. I really am a huge fan of her work.”

_My ex-wife almost didn't exist. Fuck._

“To answer your question, no, we didn’t pray for Trixie. I know I didn’t, at least not specifically for that, and I’m sure Chloe didn’t - she’s always been an atheist. Maybe agnostic at best. It didn't take, I dunno," this really wasn't something to feel embarrassed over, really, but it still wasn't something you _talk_ about. "Longer than we thought it would? I’m sure I would have remembered either of you if we’d met before. Chloe got pregnant sooner than we intended, but we did _want_ at least one kid,” he started to add something but stopped.

“What?”

“I knew going into the marriage that there was a chance we couldn't have kids. She never knew exactly was her mom's thing was, thought it was a fluke...Chloe expected to have the same problems her mom did, to some extent, but that turned out not to be an issue at all.” Dan full-body shivered like someone walked over his grave. He met Amenadiel’s gaze. "That means that _Trixie_ only exists because of...God? Because of you?"

Amenadiel looked uncomfortable, "well…"

"Ultimately, I mean. Obviously I know how we had Trixie. But we only had her, no other kids."

Lucifer cleared his throat delicately. "You're certain she's...yours?"

He tried not to get angry, but he felt his fists clench. "Of course she's mine!"

“You have to understand that throughout the history of humanity, that kind of thing might happen.”

Amenadiel took pity on him, "we're just trying to figure out how _special_ you actually are. If you have angelic ancestry yourself, it makes your daughter something not entirely human - not that it’s necessarily a bad thing. It’s not nearly as common as it used to be. It shouldn't really matter for her, except now it might be coming from both her parents, which may cause...issues for her in a few years when she becomes an adult.” 

_Can my life get more weird? "_ What kind of issues?"

"With adulthood, maybe nothing. Maybe a little talent for magic, like Puck, only to a much smaller degree. She could be a fortune-teller, for example, or be able to cast minor spells. I would have been able to test her, if I'd known to look for it. I don’t think I can now - my power is much more limited.”

Just a little bit of excitement welled up in him and he tried not to grin, "Trixie might be, like, a real _Harry Potter_ kid?"

He got a blank look from Amenadiel and a dramatic eye roll from Lucifer.

Oy. "A witch?"

"Yes, more like that."

“...that also might be why you're manifesting _angel_ wings specifically, as opposed to say, fairy wings, because of the spell Puck cast on you."

“I really don’t want to ask this, but…”

“You’re not an angel, not directly. But the wings look like those of an angel. They even glow a little, if you haven’t noticed, like-” he tripped over what he was going to say, “well, Lucifer’s.”

Lucifer very visibly twitched. 

"But...you're saying I could be your, or Lucifer's, what, cousin?" _Well. That would certainly fuck up any chance of a second date_. “Wait, can angels have kids?”

Lucifer and Amenadiel just looked at each other warily like the other one might bite.

Amenadiel continued without answering, " _if_ it's part of your heritage and not completely coming from Puck's magic, working in a way to - wait, why exactly did she pick on you again? What did you do to attract her attention anyway?"

He totally didn't blush. “Nothing! I mean.” Dan looked at Lucifer, gesturing, "we were on a date. She somehow knew I knew...about him."

Amenadiel snorted. "You - Dan? Luci doesn't _date._ He's the Devil."

Lucifer resumed grooming Dan's other wing. "I can have new routines, can't I?"

Amenadiel rolled his eyes, “sure, you’ve been full of them for the last five years. But now that Chloe is available again-” 

“I’m right here, dude.”

“And how long have you known? How long have you had those things anyway?”

“Uh. Maybe three or so days? And since this morning?”

“And they’re _already_ dirty?” He frowned, taking in again Dan’s state, and maybe thinking back to the view when he arrived without warning. "Have you…?"

Lucifer smirked, catching on faster than Dan. " _Ruffled_ his feathers? Shook his _tree_? Sat on his perch?"

Dan turned more red as Lucifer went on.

"Not that it's any of your business, seeing as it's hard for two males to procreate and actually commit inbreeding. I suppose I should be happy to find out I have a family member I tolerate. However - no, not yet."

_Hard? Not impossible?_

And... _not yet?_

"Luci, I don't believe Dan is truly a nephilim," for Dan's benefit, and to him he added, "meaning to be of _angelic_ descent. It doesn't rule out other sources, such as fae blood, or even some distant connection to Lilith herself. I don't suppose you have anyone in your family who comes to mind as...magical? Odd? Of questionable origin?"

 _Yay?_ "I mean, we all have a crazy aunt or nana, right?"

"We have a sister or two who can be erratic, but female angels aren't alone in that aspect." 

Lucifer perked up. "Bowie!"

"Sorry?"

"David Bowie!"

Dan made an effort to stand still and not twist the long feather that Lucifer was combing with his fingers. "What about him?"

"He had fae blood. Not a great deal, perhaps several generations removed, probably his father's side."

Amenadiel looked doubtful. 

"Is he in heaven?"

"No…"

"Well, he's not in Hell either, meaning he went to the fae afterlife. Probably was very confusing to him for a time."

Dan looked up at Amenadiel. "There's a fairy afterlife?"

Amenadiel gave _him_ a look like _he_ should already know these things. "Of course. They have their own system apart from humans. If it's true for you, you may go there when you die."

"What's fairy heaven like?"

"No idea. Like I said, different system. If we met another one of your family members, it might help us figure it out."

He groaned. "So you don't actually know. Is this going to involve an international trip? My furthest family that I know all live in Guatemala, but aunt Millie lives a few hours away from here by car. Of any of my closer family, she'd be the one with any weird bloodlines. My sisters and brother are all normal beyond reason." 

Lucifer straightened the last feather and patted Dan's back. The wings folded up and away obediently. He circled around to Dan’s side. "Let's keep looking for Puck first. Paying your extended family a visit may not be necessary. Not to mention you having to introduce us to them - yet more people who will have an additional layer of not believing me."

He wasn't sure if he just imagined the tightening around Lucifer's eyes.

Dan sat on the couch, turning to Amenadiel, "what do your wings look like?"

He got a cold look in return, addressing Lucifer, "if he's keeping the wings, he needs to be properly instructed on how to behave."

His stomach dropped, and he felt every inch of Amenadiel's status, if not his power. "What did I do?"

"Oh, relax, brother. Daniel, Amenadiel doesn't have his any longer-"

" _Luci!"_

"He's fallen. He's just jealous you have pretty wings and he doesn't."

"You can't just-"

"You're the one who arrived unannounced, _brother_. Just imagine if you'd barged in a little later, after I'd gotten all his clothes off. There may have been blue and white feathers scattered everywhere from all the sexy writhing about." he purred, his voice like silk, “but the night is still young.”

Amenadiel actually looked green.

Dan full-body blushed.

"He may yet be one of _our_ brothers! What if Father had hidden him from us in some kind of plan?"

"You're the one who accuses me of having no morals. What do you care?"

He huffed, "if you want me to leave-"

"I want you to leave."

"Fine." He cast a long look over Dan. "I strongly suggest you figure out _what_ you are before pursuing anything further with Lucifer. _He_ may not care, but I assure you that Father will."

Lucifer growled, "Dad has thrown his own children out of Heaven for less. Did you know He would have destroyed me, if not for Mum?" 

"He just _got_ wings. If he doesn't want to lose them again, he should refrain from Falling."

Lucifer got into Amenadiel's space. "Well, he _already_ tried to murder someone, so clearly Dad doesn't give a shit any longer unless it's just about you."

Dan rubbed his neck. "Uhm."

Both of them looked down at him.

_I totally sort of had someone else murdered._

"You know, nevermind. Can I... _fall?_ If I'm not...angelic?"

The older brother grunted, "I've...been wrong in my beliefs before. The fact remains that you do possess wings that... _appear_ to be of angelic design, if not origin. I suppose if Father truly wanted to, he could have concealed your true nature from us, but I have to admit, even that is ...unlikely." it looked physically painful to admit.

"Why, brother, it seems you actually are capable of reasoning."

Ignoring Lucifer, "you've been given a powerful and rare gift. Don't squander it." 

Amenadiel turned to go. "Keep a close eye on him. Father doesn't like others playing _Him_. Your fairy friend may already be dead."

“Wait, what did you come here for?”

His glare lets up, a little. “Charlotte is doing better. She’s having fewer nightmares. She’s been working on...something I asked her to look into a few days ago.”

Lucifer grunted, “regarding?”

Amenadiel glanced sideways at Dan. “Pierce.”

Dan rubbed his eyes. “Now what? Lucifer told me that my boss knows about who he is, but not why.”

“I see.”

Lucifer groaned. “So you have nothing new and really just came to bother me.” 

He shifted on his feet. “I was also wondering if you’ve talked to Maze lately? About anything?”

He sounded disinterested. “No, I haven’t.” His expression cleared as he thought of something.

Dan kind of loved the way Lucifer had no poker face whatsoever. 

“But you’ve given me an idea. She’s still bounty hunting? I bet she’d track down a fae for me.”

Amenadiel nodded. “...Maybe you should call her right now?”

“Later. It’s barely one in the morning, and I still have some time left tonight to have a _nice_ evening.”

Dan heard him but rolled his eyes mentally. Typical Lucifer, just trying to rile up his brother as much as possible before ejecting both of them, one at a time. 

"Luci, I hope you, this time, fully consider what effect your libido might have on Dan, long-term. This is more serious-"

" _Out."_

Amenadiel huffed but left.

Dan waited for Lucifer to decide he couldn’t do anything with him, again. 

Amenadiel seemed convinced there was more to his transformation.

Yay.

First, the actual Devil, whom he'd had a crush on since - well, if he was honest with himself, he felt the stirrings of for the better part of several months. And then he slept with Lucifer's _mother_. More than once. It explained all the weird things she said in bed - things Dan dismissed at the time because _holy shit she was hot_ \- things like, 'I should have done this centuries ago,' and 'you really are a very fine example of humanity.' It really should have put him off, but he'd be lying if he said he didn't have just a little bit of a praise kink, and he'd take what he could get, even if the wording was...odd.

If God was going to strike him down for anything, it seemed more likely to be for fucking _His Wife_ than idly daydreaming about one of his (apparently many) sons. _Was God married? Did Dan cuckhold_ **_God_** _?_

And now he has wings. That he kind of wants to keep. If it ends up being so much of a problem for Lucifer - well. He's not going to risk cutting them off. He saw how much blood and trauma was involved with Lucifer and his wings. He didn't know what happened to the cut off ones, and he forgot to ask. That wasn't the first time he'd had them cut off either by himself or with help either. The odds that Dan would or could recover from that kind of ordeal seemed…unlikely.

_"Hello, Chloe Decker? Your ex-husband has been committed to an insane asylum. Or mental institution. Whatever we call them these days. He says he's an ex-angel, lusted after the Devil, had sex with God's wife and might also be a fairy. Yeah, we're keeping him here for forever. He says you're welcome to his furniture and please feed the fish. No, he doesn't have any fish."_

His ex-wife is a miracle. Now his own daughter might be a literal witch.

Trixie - there's a witch name - would love it. Amenadiel might even be able to teach her not to abuse her powers. _Does she need a wand? A familiar? Spellbooks?_

 _I don't have any gold coins for admission to Hogwarts._ Lucifer _probably does. I have been to the 9 and ¾ platform at Disney though. With Trixie. I should find that photo._

He giggled. 

Lucifer pushed an amber drink into his hand. Dan isn't really a straight- _anything_ drinker, but at least it went down smooth and jolted him out of his thought cascade.

He put the empty glass down, laid his head against the back of the couch and closed his eyes.

He felt Lucifer's attention on him.

Maybe it’s Lucifer's inborn need to be contrary to anything Amenadiel says. Maybe he was getting over the wing-thing.

_Maybe my brain should just shut the hell up._

* * *

"Where were we?"

Dan cracks his eyes open towards the sound of his voice. "You were doing nice things to my new wings."

He winced a little. "That we were. If you can keep them furled, we might be able to salvage the evening."

It had been some time since he'd eaten any real food - the tacos had been left behind in the truck, uneaten, probably stale by now. The good alcohol burned pleasantly through his body, warming him from neck to toes. "You did mine, want me to do yours?"

"I generally prefer not to be reminded that I have them."

"I need to learn how to do it myself, right? Maybe I can help you feel better?"

"Hmm. I was thinking more of simply taking you to bed."

Oh. _Oh._ "What about what Amenadiel said?" 

_Dan, you idiot. Stop asking about his brother._

Lucifer leaned in closer, sliding a broad hand around Dan's waist, his voice dipping. "What about it? You don't want to keep them, do you?"

Dan shifts towards him. "I mean. They did save my life…what if I want to hang onto them?"

Warm breath on his neck. Lucifer moved to straddle him, heat and weight on his thighs. 

"I believe I can work around it. I may have to find a way to bind you to keep the wings in their sheaths, however.”

They quiver at his words but stay put. In spite of everything, worrying about parts of him warning him this is a terrible idea, about greater celestial forces at work, about the effects of magic, the existence of spell-casters, suggestions they might somehow be _related,_ Dan ran his hands up Lucifer's chest, reaching for the top button of his dress shirt. It got very hard to care about any of that, sitting here with a lapful of Lucifer. "And pissing off God himself?" 

“I have a long history of it myself.” Hands slipped under his soft shirt. "Dad hasn't interfered directly with humans since He cut them loose from the Garden. I wouldn't worry too much."

They hold onto each other. He is literally in the arms of an angel. _What could go wrong_? Lucifer kissed him, gently at first. He expected his neck to hurt a little as he had to lean up, but it doesn’t. He tastes like the liquor they both just drank, burning a little on his lips and tongue, spreading warmth all through his body. The shirt buttons come halfway undone.

The Garden. 

Temptation.

Lucifer himself tempted Eve, didn't he? And all of humanity fell as a result?

He pulls back, his hands stilling. He looked back up again as Lucifer gazed softly but with fire in his eyes. 

He swallowed. 

Maybe it _was_ Lucifer who tempted them, back then. But it was God who punished them harshly for it. It was God who threw them out with nothing but animal skins. With no chance of apology or redemption. Who cursed them to leave paradise and never return. If any of that is all true, anyway - though he didn’t see much of a reason to doubt it now. 

One wrong step and you're doomed to Hell.

Well. He's going there anyway. 

Before he _really_ believed in one, he knew he wasn't exactly a _good_ guy. 

Lucifer touched his throat, his other hand sliding to his lower back, still under his clothes and touching his skin with fire and want.

The peacemakers may be blessed, but the mischief-maker is damn sexy.

He grew rigid under Lucifer's weight, pressing very close to an answering hardness and earning him a pleased, soft moan that vibrated to his core.

He pulled apart the bottom button of Lucifer's dress shirt, finding nothing but hard flesh under it with his hands. His shirt goes again over his head, one of Lucifer's hands cupping the back of his head and only barely pulling his short hair. Stubble pricks at his face, brushes his lips, tickles his nose. 

Lucifer dragged teeth along his neck and abruptly stood.

Dan heard himself whine. But Lucifer just smiled knowingly and pulled him up. His heart won't stay where it’s supposed to be, being smiled at like that.

They leave the shirts on the floor.

He was kissed down into the bed, welcoming the weight. He breathed through his nose until he couldn't, breaking the kiss to speak, "I haven't-"

Lucifer kissed his neck. "You're far from my first. Tell me to stop and I will. I don't expect you to try anything your first go. Hmmm. I bet you squirm nicely." The kiss on his neck turned into tongue and teeth and a gentle bite.

Dan rolled his hips, arching, hooking his legs through Lucifer's. He didn't know how he felt about spreading his, grateful Lucifer took the lead, but also wrapping around him. Dan smoothed his hands down Lucifer's broad shoulders, narrow waist, curved hips and down to the top of his perfectly round ass. 

They separated long enough to work at belts and pants, scooting out of them and kicking the fabric off the bed. A belt hit the floor with a clatter of metal.

The thin fabric of Lucifer's silk boxers roll in his hands, his knuckles encountering hot, soft skin. He was so much larger than anyone else he'd ever slept with; harder, firmer in every way. 

It's comforting, somehow.

Lucifer slides his hand up the leg of Dan's cotton boxers, skimming the skin close to his straining erection. 

"Hngh. Touch me."

He did, tugging the last bit of clothing off his hips. Dan lay exposed to air for all of three seconds before Lucifer's mouth was on him, taking him. 

"Fuck. Luce."

Dan messed up Lucifer's curls. 

There was no room left in his brain.

He bucked hard, then winced. "Sorry."

Lucifer hummed on his dick, then came up sweetly. "It's alright, doesn't hurt. Go ahead. Fuck my mouth."

And went back down. 

_Fuuuuuuuuuuuuck._

Dan took him at his word, thrusting into his throat. Lucifer flexed and tightened, expertly not using his teeth. His bottom lip met Dan's balls and he nearly came with that. "Fuck, Lucifer."

Lucifer moved his head, sucked with his tongue and swallowed when Dan came.

His wings sag in their pockets, relaxed, happy, and absolutely nothing is wrong with the world. 

He opened his eyes, not realizing he'd closed them, and saw white feathers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well. That only took, like 26k words to get to any smut. That might be a record for me.


	7. Dreaming and Waking

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter summary: Dan wakes up, Maze gets sucked into a group chat, Chloe raises an eyebrow and Charlotte gets annoyed. So. like, a normal day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I figured out how to insert images! woohoo!

His wings are beautiful.

Alive and luminous, and so different from the cut off, dead things on the ground. And even then they had looked like something out of an ethereal dream, even while resembling props to a vicious nightmare. Full of life, attached to the being they belonged to, they were breathtaking.

And he's out of it.

His heartbeat began to slow to normal.

Lucifer's bed feels wonderful.

Lucifer feels wonderful.

Dan wrenched his eyes back to Lucifer's face, reminded of how much he didn't _want_ his wings. "Sorry."

Lucifer whips them away with a grunt. They vanish from his back and take a soft glow away with them. "They do that sometimes."

"Pop out? Yeah, I've been having that problem."

"Don't remind me. I meant mesmerizing people."

"I think you've already successfully seduced me. I don't need them."

"If I leave them out, your brain will turn into pudding."

"I like pudding..." Dan bit his lip and let his hands roam freely. He was trying not to embarrass himself by just passing out under Lucifer. He shoved one shoulder, pulling him down for a kiss, tasting himself. Lucifer smiled against his lips. 

He breathed out through his nose.

He let his eyes fall closed, warm and safe. And fell rapidly away from himself.

He dreamed of swirling feathers, of fresh starts, hazy and colorful scenes that skip by like pebbles on water. His father disappointed in his split with Chloe, but not vocal about it. He dreamed of Lucifer holding a child without looking like he might break it on accident. 

He dreamed of happy things, but he couldn't say what they were later. But it was nice to wake up with scattered shreds of dreams that he wanted to hang onto.

_A pixie kissed his nose._

* * *

It’s morning.

_When did that happen?_

His arms are around someone, so that's nice. His face is pressed up against a broad, muscular back. 

_Holy crap, he's warm._

_Shit. I think I drooled in my sleep._

He licked his lips, pulling back enough to find a small smear of shiny fluid on Lucifer's skin. 

_Yup._

He is pleasantly surprised to find he’s not freaked out by waking up in Lucifer's bed. The last time he woke up in the arms of a partner, she was petite, blonde, and blue-eyed. Much like his ex-wife. He decided not to think about that too much. Dan is the smaller person here - not by much, but enough of a difference that he’s not the one causing the larger dip in the mattress. 

It’s still early, the sun isn’t quite _up_ yet, so he hasn’t overslept. It gives him time to admire Lucifer’s back. He smells nice. 

Dan feels heavy but comfortable, with soft blankets tucked up around them both. The body in front of him breathes slowly and evenly, sleeping but not snoring. 

Of course, the Devil doesn't snore. 

Lucifer is the little spoon, leaving Dan more or less hugging the middle of his back with one arm, and the other wedged between them, but not uncomfortably. They must have moved around in the night; the last thing Dan remembers is Lucifer being over him. He doesn’t seem upset about Dan passing the fuck out, or not upset enough to leave him alone in bed, anyway. 

He’s still naked. Okay, that's good too. 

He’s got morning wood but doesn’t want to wake his partner up quite _that way._ Not that Lucifer would mind, probably, but this whole thing had started with Dan worried about consent issues, and he’s not about to change that now. 

He debated about curling up closer and sleeping again but he has no idea where his phone is or if he set an alarm. 

Dan slides his hands lower, and Lucifer is still wearing underwear. 

Time to fix that.

He rubs light circles on Lucifer's hip until he stirs.

“Hmm.” Lucifer shifts, pushing back against his hips, sighing softly. It's barely a sleepy hum, a content cat in sunlight.

Slowly, Dan lets his hand wander, finding new places. Lucifer’s hip bone is hard under his wrist. His half-hardness isn’t the soft, slick, giving parting of a woman, but it still feels good in his light grip. He lets out a held breath, enjoying Lucifer’s soft reactions to him.

“Good morning, detective.”

He falters for a second but Lucifer looks at him over his shoulder as he turned, and Dan knew Lucifer meant _him_. 

It sends a thrill up his chest. 

He only feels a little guilty about it, the ‘detective’ thing, lingering over the feeling like he’s teasing a healing scab. But Chloe didn’t want Lucifer. Or not enough to do anything about it, which amounts to the same thing.

_Or not enough to not say ‘yes’ to someone else, even if they’re done now._

He lets his fingernails brush a little harder along the silk over Lucifer's length. 

Lucifer cups his face and kisses him. 

In between breaths, Dan says, "I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"Making you wait."

Lucifer pushes against him, licking Dan's lips. "Hmm. You can make it up to me now."

"What…?"

"Whatever you feel like."

"I like this."

Lucifer frames him with his elbows, lowering onto him, full-length, kissing him solidly, back to where he was the night before.

Dan tugs on the persistent boxers, but they've caught on flesh somewhere between them.

Lucifer raises his hips with a low chuckle that drive into Dan's abdomen and stays there. The two shift enough to line up Lucifer's mouth with Dan's ear.

The boxers finally get kicked off somewhere.

 _Jesus fuck_ _he feels good_.

He gets a whole breath before Lucifer takes even more advantage of his position. Lucifer closes his mouth on Dan's earlobe, "I slept with your taste on my tongue."

His weight is exquisite. His length is hard against him, hot and eager. Dan manages an incoherent sound. He accepts the push of the body over his, gravity and Lucifer bearing him down into the huge mattress. It's so easy to just be here, with him. 

"I'd like to find out what the rest of you tastes like," he lifts one of Dan's hands and puts the fingers in his mouth.

He just about comes from that. 

Lucifer sweeps his tongue over fingers and knuckles, gripping Dan's wrist firmly. 

Dan thinks he should do something with that. 

They shift again. He reaches between them with now slicked up fingers. Lucifer starts to wet his own, but Dan isn't the one trying to balance. Not that Lucifer seems to have any problem doing that. He took in Lucifer's index and middle fingers, sucking as far as he can. Which was an embarrassingly short amount, but Lucifer just smiles, kissing him again when they reach to touch each other with wet hands.

He gets his thumb and fingers around them both, and Lucifer copies him, not quite closing his fingers to touching.

The soft, pleased smile almost undoes him all over again. 

Dan swallows. 

Lucifer kisses him gently. "I think you like this, too."

 _Hnngh._ "Yeah. I...fuck." he tenses up slowly, moving hard against Lucifer.

"You can come first."

He tangles his free hand in Lucifer's hair, lightly, "don't wanna."

Hot on his ear, quietly, "I still want to taste you again. I don't plan on letting you out of bed until I do."

He inhales, out of thoughts and words and air. He thrusts up, delicious friction and pressure, against their hands, against Lucifer's hard, slick cock. His mouth felt amazing last night and the thought of it there again took him higher. He wants that less than _this_ , the body contact, touching as much skin as possible and back to the hair, Lucifer's stupidly long legs tangled up with his, his nose against Dan's jaw. He can feel those lips drawn in a tightening smile, Lucifer's body flexing and tensing, closer to his own release too.

The skin under his palm slides and pulls, unfamiliar and familiar at the same time. Lucifer's knuckles dig against his low belly on each stroke, but he doesn’t want to give them more room, holding him tight. He sucks in a new breath, holding it, taut.

"There we are. Come on me."

_Fucking hell._

Grabbing Lucifer’s hair and wrenching his head against his neck, he winces but doesn’t let go. He doesn’t mean to be rough, but everything feels so good that he can’t help reaching for something to hold on to. Black hair catches in his fingers, pulled tight. He comes harder than last night, feeling himself pulse through and over their fingers for what feels like _ages_ until he feels empty. Lucifer joins him as Dan ebbed, on the verge of hypersensitivity just shy of _too much,_ a wave of fresh heat and thick fluid stickiness that isn't weird but some part of his brain thinks it ought to be.

He registers Lucifer's groan and soft sigh mirroring his, and shit, he made those sounds because of Dan. 

His hand twitch, senselessly letting go and being held in place by Lucifer's. Lucifer still has a firm grip, seemingly lost himself, in a sea of pleasure. 

He grabs Lucifer, pulling him closer. Slick, warm mess quickly get trapped between them and Dan finds himself not really giving a shit.

That said, a shower will be needed soon. Preferably with company.

Damn. “I need clothes.”

Lucifer laughs into his neck, hotly and with amusement. “If this is how you always respond to sex-”

Dan looks up at the ceiling which was lost in the shadows, wincing to himself. “Not always. Just when I feel so good I can’t think. That was…shit." 

Lucifer slumps to his side, curled up with a leg still heavy over both of Dan's. “I hope you aren’t too broken.”

 _I could do this every day for the rest of my life._ But Dan is an adult and doesn’t put a voice to things that might send a human partner running for the hills. He does say, “no worse than usual. Wait, are you still hard? Did I do something wrong?”

“Some males stay erect for a good bit afterward - but you did just fine - as long as you enjoy it as much as your partner, there’s really no such thing as badly done sex. You are doing very well and I hope to explore you more. Mine is more of a potentially persistent state anyway.”

Dan really does enjoy the praise, doesn’t he? “As in? You could do it again, like, soon?”

“Often as you like, nearly.” 

Dan grins at nothing in particular. Lucifer’s always thinking of someone other than himself, at least in bed. Even if he can get off a dozen more times, it’s about what the other person might want. It probably works great for someone with a place (or two) to put it in, but he’s not ready for that yet.

 _Yet? Well. There is_ ** _one_** _other_ _place I can try._

“What?”

Dan wets his lips and kisses him, brushing his chin on scruff. It feels good. _Normal._ “Can you show me how to do what you did to me last night?”

An eyebrow raises at him. "Do you want to clean up first? I could do with a shower. I have a guest bath as well if you prefer."

Okay, yeah, the stuff between them is definitely getting cool and sticky. He kisses Lucifer again because he can. "Join me?"

* * *

_(Mazikeen has been added to group chat)_

**_Maze_ ** _: Wtf is this shit?_

 **_Dan:_ ** _I honestly don’t know._

 **_Lucifer:_ ** _MAZE! I need you._

 **_Maze:_ ** _… I don’t care_

 ** _Lucifer:_** **_We_** _need you!_

 **_Maze:_ ** _Why the fuck is Dan here?_

 **_Lucifer:_ ** _We have someone we need to find. We’ll pay you._

 **_Dan:_ ** _Luce…_

 **_Lucifer:_ ** _I’ll pay you! How do you feel about hunting fairies?_

 **_Maze:_ ** _(typing)_

 **_Maze:_ ** _Literally or figuratively? I fucking hate fairies. Also, where are my knives?_

 **_Dan:_ ** _(typing)_

 **_Lucifer:_ ** _Daniel has them._

 **_Maze:_ ** _(typing)_

 **_Maze:_ ** _Why does Dan have them?_

 **_Dan:_ ** _(typing)_

 **_Dan:_ ** _Literal Fairy._

 **_Lucifer:_ ** _I told him to take them._

 **_Maze:_ ** _WHY. I would have retrieved them._

 **_Lucifer:_ ** _It seemed like a good idea at the time._

 **_Maze:_ ** _My blades. In the hands of a mortal. Does he even know what they are?_

 **_Dan:_ ** _(typing)_

 **_Maze:_ ** _Since when are you ‘Luce’?_

 **_Lucifer:_ ** _I’m sure he can tell you exactly where they are in his apartment. You should have no trouble breaking in and getting them._

 ** _Dan:_** **_(typing)_**

 **_Maze:_ ** _What kind of fairy? Do you want them killed, captured or just incapacitated? I have a couple of different rates we can go over._

 **_Dan:_ ** _(typing)_

 **_Lucifer:_ ** _I believe we are leaning toward captured._

 **_Lucifer:_ ** _There’s this curse we need to have removed._

 **_Dan:_ ** _Okay,_ **_first_** _, the blades are in the kitchen, next to the fridge in the - don't kill me - knife drawer - please do not tear apart my living space just to find them. I took them because Lucifer (typing) shouldn’t have them. And yeah, I know what they are. Second, 'curse' is overstating it._

 **_Lucifer:_ ** _Hardly._

 **_Maze:_ ** _You know what they are and your brain isn’t all melted? Huh._

 **_Dan:_ ** _(typing)_

 **_Lucifer:_ ** _The fae is currently known as Puck. I can assist you with a description and a sketch._

 **_Dan:_ ** _Oh god please dont_

_**Lucifer:** _

**** __

**_Lucifer:_ ** _What did I say about mentioning my Father?_

 **_Dan:_ ** _… Never in bed?_

 **_Maze:_ ** _HAH! I knew it!_

 **_Maze:_ ** _You two have been shacking up for_ **_months_** _, haven’t you? Making him dress like you on those cases, looking at him with those puppy hell-hound eyes._

 ** _Dan:_** **_(typing)_**

 **_Lucifer:_ ** _I popped his man-cherry only very recently. And I invested in Douche-cosplay intentionally. No one makes me do anything._

 ** _Maze:_** _My_ _bad, she says while inventing fun new head fantasies and definitely isn't sorry at all._

 **_Dan:_ ** _(Dan has removed a message)_

 **_Dan:_ ** _That is not - is this necessary?_

 **_Maze:_ ** _Oh, absolutely._

 **_Dan:_ ** _I did what now?_

 **_Maze:_ ** _you've been ogling him forever. Took you long enough to bone. So what’s the curse? Can’t go out in public? Grew horns? Super-hot for Devil? Covered in fur? One of the nastier ones like constant urination?_

 **_Dan:_ ** _She gave me wings._

_(minutes pass)_

**_Dan:_** _Maze?_ _Mazikeen?_

 **_Maze:_ ** _I’m laughing so hard I’m crying. Please tell me they’re big pretty angel wings._

 **_Dan:_ ** _(typing)_

 **_Lucifer:_ ** _It’s not funny._

 **_Dan:_ ** _But I do kinda like them._

 **_Lucifer:_ ** _Darling, we’ll talk about this at home. Finding Puck, even if she doesn’t or won’t lift her spell_ _is paramount._

 **_Maze:_ ** _If that’s what you want, I’ll make it happen. Can’t you just undo the spell yourself?_

 ** _Dan:_** **_What? Lucifer?_**

 **_Lucifer:_ ** _Not to get your hopes up, love, but Fae magic is_ **wild**. _Simply attempting to reverse the magic spell will cause unexpected results, I promise you. Depending on her goal, mucking about with her magic may turn Dan into an actual parrot. The wings aren’t life-threatening, in either case, which is why I haven't offered to make the attempt. My flat is not suitable for wildlife._

 **_Maze:_ ** _I’d kind of like to see that, now._

 **_Maze:_ ** _Also_ ** _,_ ** _never touch my knives again, Dan._

 **_Dan:_ ** _I won’t. Lucifer can do magic?_

 **_Maze:_ ** _We both can. Usually, we don’t. So remember that if you ever wonder if I can make voodoo dolls._

 **_Lucifer:_ ** _She’s quite talented._

 **_Maze:_ ** _Don’t try to flatter me. Just pay me. Hey Dan. He likes it when I do that thing with my finger._

 **_Dan:_ ** _(typing)_

 **_Lucifer:_ ** _Oh, yes. I’ll show you later._

 ** _Dan:_** **_(typing)_**

(Mazikeen has left the group text)

 **_Dan:_ ** _Motherfucker_

 **_Lucifer:_ ** _Technically, that’s you._

* * *

Dan walked by Chloe's desk so fast she almost missed him. 

Almost.

“Hey.”

He gripped his take-out coffee cup and stopped. “Good morning.”

“You guys came in together again today, shouldn’t you have your car back by now?”

“Why - oh, it’s Friday! Shit. I’ll ask… Lucifer to swing by my place. I need to clean up anyway before I pick up Trixie.”

She bit her lip. “...Do you want the weekend off? I don’t have plans anymore, I could just keep her.”

What his brain said was, _shit,_ **_yes_** _, I can help look for the stupid fairy and not worry about these godda-fucking wings popping out in front of my daughter and freaking her the fuck out. Plus, you and Trix can eat ice cream or whatever the fuck you do when your mom breaks up with someone and also keep her company._ What he said was, “what if we do a movie night, tonight? We can all watch something together? I already promised Trixie we would do something, probably pizza and a movie or game anyway."

Her resulting smile made him realize just how brittle her previous one had been. “That’d be great. Do you have…uhm...additional plans already? I don’t want to crash your date night, Trixie or not."

His heart unclenched. Just a little. “No, ah, we haven’t really talked about that much. How are you?”

“Marcus seems to be okay with us going back to a professional relationship.” She twitched a little, starting to add something but then didn’t.

He made himself take a soothing breath. If she didn’t want to share, he wasn’t going to push. Especially since he didn’t want too many questions asked of himself. “Okay, that sounds great. Why don’t you just plan to come over tonight with Trixie, and save me a trip picking her up? I’ll make dinner or get take-out or something. I haven’t asked Lucifer yet, but I’m pretty sure he’ll want to eat with us.”

_And I’ll go find a nice, sturdy blanket to wrap around myself and hope the wings stay put._

She nodded. “I’ll bring something to drink. You’re sure I’m not imposing?”

“I don’t think I’m ready to tell Trixie what’s going on, if anything really is - tonight can just a night for us to touch base. Besides, I'm a cheap date. Maybe I'll take Lucifer to the park if he wants to go out tomorrow."

She bit her lip, then asked, "you actually _like_ him, huh?"

 _For a while now._ "You like him."

"I don't know if I could like _like_ him. He wouldn't even be here, working here, if he couldn't _afford_ to basically not take a salary. I wouldn't even do that."

It wasn't exactly an unfair thing to say, considering. He teased her, "yeah, you would, even if you were loaded, you'd work. _I_ wouldn't though. I'd go be a full-time lousy professional surfer."

"You'd look good doing it," she gave him a quirk of her lips. "Okay, yeah, you're right. I catching the bad guys. At least Lucifer makes it interesting. And he _is_ hot, so he has that going for him too." She tilted her head, grinning wider. “You could always set Charlotte up with Marcus. They could take their frustrations out on each other."

Dan shuddered. “We already broke up - I don’t really need her to want to kill me too.” _And two of the people who are in the loop._ _One of which is apparently being investigated by the other._

_I need to talk to Lucifer about adding Chloe and Trixie to the insider's club._

_Just not tonight_.

* * *

Speak of the Once-Goddess.

Dan looked at Charlotte awkwardly. "Hey."

Her mouth compressed into a line. "I have some information I should pass off to the LAPD. Are you busy?"

"I have a few minutes. And, I'm sorry."

"About what?"

Dan blinked, remembering he probably _couldn't_ apologize in the middle of work. At least, not about what they fought over, or not overtly. Not that Lucifer made any more sense when he opened his mouth in public. But his other coworkers depended on him to be normal. It didn't feel right to leave her hanging, either. "The thing you told me? I may have been...hard on you."

"That thing. That you blew me off over? That you completely flipped out over? I'd say so, yeah."

He waffled. "In my defense, it seemed a little…"

"What?"

"...Outlandish."

"Hmmph. Lucky for you, I'm feeling generous. Why are you apologizing _now_?" 

"Because. I shouldn't have flown off the handle."

Her face lightened a little, "I _guess_ you could make it up to me." She gave him a longer look, up and down, that would have had him making different plans this weekend not long ago.

Fucking hell. "I don't know if I can, actually. I'm kind of...seeing someone. We haven't actually talked about boundaries. It's...new."

Her eyes narrowed to slits. "So you called me a crazy person, broke up with me and now you're _already_ seeing someone else? When did you turn into a playboy?"

"I don't know if-"

"Daniel!" Lucifer walked by right then and slapped him solidly on the ass. "Are we on for tonight?"

Charlotte looked daggers at them both. "Oh, my God."

"Wrong diety. As you are well aware." The glint in his eyes said he knew exactly why she looked mad.

She huffed. "Look, I get rebound sex, I do."

Lucifer nodded unhelpfully.

He knew he sounded strained. "It's not rebound sex!"

"You aren't together…?"

Lucifer opted not to help. At all. He bounced on his heels, watching. 

"I'm dating. We're dating. It's a thing." Dan tried to melt into the floor. He was unsuccessful. They had broken up. But he still felt shame coating his throat like he'd been caught making out with someone in a closet in high school. There may not be a hard and fast rule about dating intervals, but he should have said something first, before… _this..._ happened. "Charlotte,"

"You know, I'm good. I'm busy anyway with work."

"You have something you wanted-"

"Later."

Dan watched her leave, a nameless feeling in the pit of his stomach. "Hey, you mind if Chloe joins us for dinner? I've got Trixie this weekend; it's going to complicate things anyway."

There might have been a flicker of disappointment but he shrugged. "The urchin _does_ seem to like me. I can't ask you to upset your plans."

"We'll get a date night, I promise. We'll still have plenty of time this weekend to fairy-hunt or whatever."

Lucifer made a noise.

"And. Uhm. What do you call it? _Snog?"_ Dan glanced around, looking for witnesses and finding none, grabbed Lucifer's hand with a squeeze and a wry look. "Come hell or high water." 

Lucifer rolled his eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for all the comments and kudos - they are all appreciated! <3


	8. The Last Crusade

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dan comes home and messes up Lucifer's hair some more. Trixie makes it known she doesn't really care HOW she gets a Devil step-father, just as long as it happens. 
> 
> Bit o' smut in the middle. 
> 
> Some talk of past drug use.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So far, I've actually managed an update EVERY FRIDAY. How crazy is that? I even have a bunch of the next chapter ready, and there's another chat session and it's fucking hilarious.

There was a plain voodoo doll in the knife drawer.

Just a small, flat plushie, but still.

* * *

Dan opened his door a few hours later when Chloe rang the bell, Trixie in tow. "Hey, Monkey!"

"Lucifer!!!" Trixie ran past her dad and straight to Lucifer, who patted her on the head like she was an overly enthusiastic puppy. She didn't seem to care, hugging him tightly around his waist with unrestrained glee.

Chloe gave Dan an apologetic look, "do you mind if I split after dinner? Linda invited me out for drinks and I could use one, along with exercising my vocabulary in ways that are not appropriate around children."

Dan tried not to react too much. He wanted to be there for Chloe but he wanted some non-awkward time with Lucifer too. "You sure? I'm gonna break out _Settlers_ and dessert after."

Chloe met Lucifer's eyes, weighing him, the atmosphere. Lucifer ran a hand through his hair, settling a stray strand that may or may not have actually been there. Dan realized he had a goofy smile spreading across his face, thinking about a short span of time between ordering food for delivery and her arrival around the same time it showed up.

If Lucifer's hair was out of place, it was Dan's fault. For some reason, he kept wanting to touch it. His fingers flexed in response to the recent memory of silky black locks sliding under his palm. 

He noticed Chloe smiling at his faraway look and everything was okay again. 

Trixie let go of Lucifer, and dashed to her room at Dan’s, backpack and small luggage in tow, leaving the adults alone for a few minutes. Lucifer brushed a bit of the usual nothing off his vibrant red button-up. "Detective?"

Dan heard it this time. The inflection for her that was just a little different, cautiously optimistic - an address and a question to Chloe.

She nodded, just a slight bob of her head. Mock-seriously, she said, "just so you know, if you hurt Dan, you'll have me _and_ Trixie to answer to. Probably Ella too.”

He held a hand over his heart. "If I hurt him. It will _only_ be because he asked me to."

Dan choked a little.

Chloe flicked a sly glance his way. "Remember to ask nicely, then. Lucifer is stronger than me."

Heat flared up his neck. 

Dan was saved by a response by Trixie returning from stashing her stuff. "What's for dinner?"

"Well, we have a pile of Chinese take out, so you can pick whatever you want, as long as it's not a plate of just egg rolls, okay?"

“Okay!” She dug into the bags like a girl possessed, taking only two egg rolls with her veggie rice. 

Dan helped himself to the container of Kung Pao chicken after Chloe chose to just take the box of noodles and eat straight from it. She caught a look from him, pointing her chopsticks in his direction, "if you ask me if I'm okay, I'm going to stab you with these. Slowly."

"Fair enough. You know you can let off some steam here. This is a judgment-free zone."

She was only half-kidding, "really? You won't be upset if I bad-mouth our boss?"

Lucifer got a glint in his eye. "I could tell you some interesting stories too."

She eyed their daughter, who was crunching down an egg roll and visibly trying not to look like she was listening. "Maybe another time."

Dan dug into his box. "Nothing we have to go after him for, though, right?"

Her laugh was forced and dry. "Not like that, no. No, he was _nice_ to me and Trixie, he was. In the end, it just didn’t feel right."

Trixie shrugged. 

Chloe glanced between him and Lucifer, "anyway, you seem...good."

 _I almost died recently but sure. More recently, however, fantastic blow jobs._ "Yeah.”

“Have you told Trixie anything?”

Both Lucifer and Trixie looked at him interestedly. 

“Ah. No. Not yet.”

The girl wiped her face with the back of her hand, much to Lucifer’s disgust. “Told me what?”

“Nothing,” at Lucifer’s pointed look, he added, “ah, not nothing, just. uhm.”

She looked hopeful. “Are you and Charlotte getting married?”

Something in his core spasmed. “Ah. No. We broke up, Trix.”

“Aw. But you looked really happy when we came in.”

Chloe just grinned at him. His guts untangled a little more, and he thanked whatever lucky stars were watching that they were still friends, even with everything happening. 

Even with him quietly stealing her partner, part of his brain thought. 

It was going to feel that way for a long time, probably. The chemistry between her and Luce was impossible to miss or ignore. 

Ultimately, it just wasn’t the horny kind of chemistry. 

He hoped.

They ate quietly for a few minutes, leaning against counters. It was comfortable. Chloe wasn’t _blaming_ him. He could still read her pretty well, he thought, even if the Marcus thing made no sense as more than a fling. He crunched on a sauce-coated peanut, his gaze drifting to Lucifer in his extremely well-fitting shirt and wondering when he started noticing things like handsome men in well-fitting shirts. 

He didn’t ask if he and Chloe had ever hooked up. 

But he wanted to.

It seemed like they must have at some point - who hadn’t, after all? One of his near-daily grievances since Lucifer arrived (more like made his entrance) at work involved overhearing talk from coworkers about Lucifer’s talents in bed. 

Oddly, everything made a great deal _more_ sense now. 

With Chloe’s status as… as a divine creation, it even sort of made sense for Lucifer to _not_ sleep with her. 

It still made him feel a little better that she probably hadn’t. He felt a little bad about feeling that way, given his past jealousy. 

_It still wasn’t completely unreasonable._

_Except they were on a break, and even if she had, it wouldn’t have been cheating._

The bitch of it was, he probably would have forgiven her, either way. 

Of the two of them, she wasn't the one who needed forgiving, just for different reasons.

* * *

Chloe stayed long enough to watch the start of _Indiana Jones: The Last Crusade_ and steal one of Dan’s fridge-pack ‘bake at home’ cookies on her way out the door.

When she got up off the couch to leave, Trixie took her spot next to Lucifer, which Dan actually wanted, but didn’t say so.

Lucifer wrinkled his nose at the cookies but ate one anyway.

Chloe gave him one of her _looks_ and Dan walked her to the front door. She picked at half her cookie, looking him over. “Are you gonna tell Trixie? For real?”

 _When would you tell her? If you were dating Lucifer?_ “I guess it depends.” His stare went past her head, to the general direction where Lucifer sat on the couch. “She knew about Charlotte pretty early - helped set it up, actually.”

“She’s perceptive. And I think you and Charlotte would have been good for each other, for what it’s worth.”

“Yeah?” 

Her smile was small but warm. “You always looked good with a blonde on your arm.”

Dan had to laugh a little at that, fighting back a bit of a blush. “He’s not that at all, is he?”

“Nah. But you are cute together. I know you can take care of yourself, and obviously, I trust Lucifer around Trixie.”

“But?”

“He’s a playboy. I’ve only seen him in one long-term relationship, and that lasted a month if you include the time he was gone and not responding to texts or voicemail. If you guys get serious, you should make sure he divorced Candy.”

And okay, yeah, Lucifer was pretty flighty. “That’s fair. I guess…” _Don’t say it_ , inner Dan commanded, _I thought you’d be jealous._

“Yeah?”

 _I guess there are a lot of things I didn’t understand about you back then._ “You don’t think it’s weird?”

She smiled. “I have a bet going with Ella on how long it’ll last…”

He frowned.

“Before one of you proposes to the other. But my money is on you. Lucifer can be incredibly thoughtful when he wants to be, but on some other things, he’s utterly clueless.”

Her hand went into her pocket, touching something small - probably the same thing from before. She pulled her hand out when he noticed. “He threw me a prom, around that murder with the author that he went undercover for? I told him that I never went to my prom,”

_I would have taken you._

“Music, confetti, everything. Just the two of us. He shut down LUX for the night and everything so we had the whole place to ourselves to slow dance in.”

 _And you didn’t bone him on the spot?_ His face must have shown his thoughts because it was her turn to laugh at his reaction. “It was really sweet and yeah, romantic, but it was just a lovely and amazing gesture from a friend, nothing more.” She grinned, “maybe you should tell him you didn’t go to your prom either.”

 _Huh. Shit, I’ve never done anything like that. For anyone._ “I guess I better up my game then.”

“You’re good, yeah?”

“As long as you are too. Enjoy your night out, okay?”

The wings, which had managed not to occupy his thoughts for hours, twitched in his shoulders. They wanted to hug her too. And everyone else, apparently. He’d never been that touchy in the past. 

He gave in to the general urge, giving her a quick (non-wing) squeeze that she returned with more warmth than he would have suspected. 

He missed her more than he let on. It wouldn’t help, and it didn’t matter. But at least she apparently wanted him around despite his previous asshole-ness.

Lucifer seemed to be engrossed in the movie, talking over it to tell Trixie things about the crusades that small children probably didn’t need to hear. She appeared fascinated though, so Dan plopped down in the closest chair to watch, only half-listening to either source of sound.

He kept giving Lucifer looks from the chair, over Trixie’s head, but apparently not subtly.

She finally groaned. “What are you guys doing?”

Dan startled.

Lucifer just grinned at him. 

Neither said anything.

He cleared his throat. “What do you mean, Trix?”

His daughter gave him the most knowing eyebrow raise in the history of eyebrow raises. “You wanna sit here, dad?”

He couldn’t think of a cool way to say ‘yes’ and not sound desperate, so he didn’t. 

Trixie rolled her eyes and hopped off the couch, to the floor in front of it. She reached back and patted the seat. “Bring the ice cream.”

Oh. She just wanted dessert in reach.

He could deal with that.

He did as instructed, grabbing three spoons and the half-gallon tub of chocolate ice cream. Luckily it had suffered a few rounds of attacks the previous week, so he could help finish it without feeling guilty about eating straight out of it.

Lucifer recoiled slightly, protecting his nice shirt while Trixie dove in for her share. 

When Lucifer continued to look distrustfully at his spoon stuck in the ice cream (stickiness? Cheap quality of ice cream?) Dan scooped up a bit and offered it on his own spoon. 

Lucifer licked it off so sensually that Dan had to fight off certain physical responses.

Naturally, Dan offered him another, taking his own bites in between.

After the third time, Trixie remarked, “if you wanna make out, I can go do my homework.”

Lucifer said, “right then.”

Dan said, “what?” Because it's Friday, and she usually left it until Sunday evening. And also, _what_?

“It’s fine, dad.”

“What about _Settlers?”_

Lucifer made a mildly disgruntled noise.

She pointed at him. “And deal with _that_ all night? I’ll give you five minutes to decide to be adults then we can play a board game.”

“You’re okay with…”

“Oh my God. Just don’t suck face in front of me.”

Dan very deliberately handed her the rest of the ice cream and kissed Lucifer lightly on the corner of his mouth. Trixie rolled her eyes and left with the tub, scraping the last bit out of the bottom as she went. 

Even though Trixie said ‘five.’ Dan dialed it back to just a barely PG-13 rated three. Lucifer grabbed his wrists to keep Dan from touching him with sticky fingers.

That was fine too. 

* * *

His kid was right.

He was able to focus on the game, scold Lucifer for making lewd comments and steal fond glances without being weird about it.

When it was over and Dan actually won for a change, Trixie said, “dad makes pretty good waffles, but there’s this breakfast place I _really_ like, so we should go there in the morning.”

* * *

Lucifer kisses him up against his bedroom door. 

He keeps the wings from reacting this time. It’s like a second, low, voice in his head, yearning to be touched. 

They have to be quiet. Lucifer, like with everything else, knows how to do that too.

Lucifer presses Dan’s crossed wrists up against the door over his head, one-handed. Dan thought he remembered how to be quiet, how to not make noise with a kid a few rooms away, but it turns out that he has to learn all over again. 

Those eyes are liquid lust, dark and light at the same time, devouring him with a look, then with his mouth and lips and tongue. 

Dan isn’t really ready for more than they’ve done so far; Lucifer is more than content with that, kissing him with a slightly tangy mouth, wiping his face with the corner of the sheet. 

He thinks he makes a better showing this time, when he goes down, taking Lucifer deeper before hitting his gag reflex sooner than he wants. Lucifer encourages him to play, and he does, slipping a spit-coated finger into warm places with gratifying results.

* * *

The second morning Dan woke up next to Luce, he was trapped in white.

Scruff pricked the back of his neck and head and white feathers cocooned them both. He felt his wings wanting to unfurl, but it seemed like it would only make things vastly more awkward.

It was hot enough as it was, anyway.

Dan shifted back to bring himself into full-body contact, even with the almost uncomfortable heat. Lucifer wrapped an arm around his middle, pulling him tight to his chest.

He couldn’t see anything past the enveloping wings. It was peaceful. 

When Dan realized Luce was still sleeping softly, unaware the wings were out, he put off waking him for as long as possible. The inside of the increasingly suffocating wings slowly brightened with the sunrise through his window setting them to glow ever so lightly. 

He finally made himself sleep a little longer, lightly dozing until Lucifer woke up and the wings whipped away again behind him. 

Somehow, one had gotten stuck under Dan and putting them away dumped him off the bed. 

Dan jumped back up, rubbing the back of his head. “Ow.”

Lucifer looked utterly unapologetic. “Come back here and I’ll kiss it better.” 

* * *

They ended up at the beach after breakfast. 

Lucifer showed him where Maze cut his wings off, the first time. Trixie was off playing in the water with some random kids. It wasn’t a good day for surfing, but it was nice for a walk. 

The wind in their faces made Dan want to let his wings loose and try flying for real.

Lucifers disapproving glare reminded him not to. Plus, he'd probably die.

“What are you, a mind-reader?”

“No. But one of the many disadvantages to free will is the resulting consequence of simply doing whatever you want. In the early days, I could inadvertently show off my wings to just about anyone, and it was simply accepted that angels and demons existed. The only people who lost their minds were, ironically, religious leaders. A lovely little field wench I met once barely gave them more than a passing thought.” 

“A…field wench?”

“Your ex-wife snores like she did, incidentally.”

Dan snorted. “She used to wake me up sometimes that way,” he looked out at the ocean. “Do you surf?”

“Never picked it up.”

“I could take you sometime, if you want. You could let me teach an old Devil new tricks.”

“That is not funny.”

“Yes, it is.”

Lucifer smirked. “It’s _mildly_ funny. Like you.”

“Ouch. Is that why Chloe doesn’t know? Because she hasn’t seen your wings? Her brain might melt?”

Lucifer didn’t respond right away, following Dan’s gaze out into the ocean, at a cargo ship passing in the distance. “I’m afraid she’ll reject me. Or maybe that she’ll understand I really am the monster I’ve been telling her I am all this time.”

“She’s special to you, isn’t she?”

“She was to you once.”

“Still is. Just different now. I can’t imagine her not being in my life. In our lives. I’m lucky she still wants to spend time with me, after how I treated her.”

“Your douche-meter has fallen quite a bit.”

“You’re not a monster.”

“I’m the Devil.”

“Yeah, I know. And yet I’d hire you to babysit my kid. What do you think that says?”

“You couldn’t pay me enough to watch the urchin for you _or_ the Detective.”

Dan stood a little closer. Not touching, not wanting to color the moment with personal desires. “Maybe not, but Maze does it from time to time.”

Lucifer’s hair didn’t move in the breeze. “Mazikeen is financially motivated.”

“Let me guess. No booze in Hell. Can I ask you something?”

“I won’t promise you an answer.”

“Discounting the time you spent in Hell. Is there anything you’ve done in the last, say, five years or even a hundred that counts as ‘evil’?”

“I’ve tempted commoners and royalty alike. I’ve encouraged spouses with years of fidelity into cheating on one another. I’ve personally bribed your co-workers, local judges, and politicians.”

“For what? The cops I get, but what did you bribe a mayor for?”

“Senator.”

“For?”

Lucifer muttered under his breath.

“Didn’t catch that.”

“To vote to legalize marijuana.”

He couldn’t help it. He laughed. “Dude, do you know how much better things are now that cops aren’t arresting people - okay, as often - for pot? I could kiss you just for that. Seriously, tempting people? I’ve seen horror movies, man. You don’t come close.”

“You haven’t seen my Devil skin.”

“Will you show me, sometime?”

“I...can’t. Since my wings - my angel wings - came back, I can’t access my Devil side. It’s...frustrating.”

Dan wrapped an arm around Lucifer. “I’m sorry you’re having performance issues.”

Lucifer pushed him to the sand with a grunt. Dan felt only a little bad for laughing since Luce was at least grinning too, then sighed and sat down next to him. “If only I could take a pill and solve the problem. Been there, done that. Minus the problem-solving part, I suppose. But it can be fun.”  
  
“Different kinds of pills? I dabbled in college, but nothing hardcore." He didn't let Lucifer change the subject. "Do you _want_ it back? Your Devil side? Whatever that means?”

He grunted. “I’ve lived a very long time. I don’t like having my choices taken away. Not by Dad or anyone else.”

After a moment, Dan asked, “Chloe? Your dad took your choice away with her?”

“And her choice too.”

Dan looked down the beach to where his daughter ran along the edge of the waves as they lapped up the shore. “I can’t say I regret your Dad interfering.”

“Hmm,” Lucifer redirected again, “what have you tried?”

Dan rolled his eyes. “You know, dumb college kid stuff. Pot, Molly.”

“That’s it?”

He felt embarrassed admitting it, but he shouldn’t have; it wasn’t as bad as some of his classmates. “Mushrooms, once. Whippits.”

Lucifer actually cocked his head at the last one. 

“Nitrous?”

“Ah, right. Much better working off a tank with that, rather than fussing about with dairy products. Also better mixed with other things. My only hope of having it work on me is starting off with a decently large tap to begin with. Luckily, I can hold my breath for quite a while. Probably indefinitely.”

“Probably?”

“I got bored after three days of it and stopped trying. I could try going into orbit, I suppose, but it defeats the purpose if there’s no air to test myself against.”

_Fly me to the moon, let me play among the stars..._

“...I’ll take your word for it, on mixing them. The gas just made me kind of sick after a while. Chloe was straighter laced. She did pot with me a few times, but that was really it for her.”

Where they sat in the sand was well away from the spot Lucifer pointed out. 

_What’s heaven like?_

_Do you miss it?_

_What’s hell like?_

_How long do I have you for?_

Dan was grateful Lucifer wasn’t a Jedi. “What happened to your brother? Amenadiel?” Also, having sex with the Devil hasn’t seemed to affect his wings at all, but he hadn’t looked at them since before then. They felt normal though. 

“With his wings? He lost them, and his power. He believes it’s because he did the nasty with Mazikeen.”

That might have been useful information beforehand. “He was an angel when they slept together? And was punished for it?”

“So he says. I find it unlikely. I’ve slept with Maze myself, and I still have my wings. I would have thought asking her to cut them off would piss off Dad more than Amenadiel sleeping with her, but what do I know?”

“Will...your Dad try to talk to me?”

Lucifer snorted so hard that Dan thought he might hurt himself. “Dad hasn’t talked to anyone in a good long time. If He does, set up a meeting so I can punch Him.”

Not able to leave well enough alone, Dan asked, “what’s He look like?”

Lucifer rubbed his face. “Are you familiar with the man from the _Allstate_ commercials a few years back?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> With the recent BTS released, I pretty much had to.
> 
> Winding down toward the last few chapters of THIS fic (I saw that now) It will continue into mpreg, once I figure out how to line up stuff, timeline-wise.


	9. Ocean Eyes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So the mature rating bumps up to Explicit in this chapter. If you didn't come to this story for the sex, sorry not sorry.
> 
> Lucifer and Dan have some more domestic time, a little bit of plot happens. I may have to change the tags around a bit since the intended wing sex STILL hasn't happened. That said, warnings will not change.
> 
> Also, this chapter came out a lot longer than I intended, so please enjoy!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Today's chapter is dropping a day early, cause, it MAH BIRDAY. I'm now the answer to the secret of the universe old. Woohoo.
> 
> All of you guys are amazing and I love you. I love continuing to write, even if I don't even know where I'll end up sometimes. I'm so excited that I'm going to see some of you at LUX 2, some of you AGAIN, holy crap. 
> 
> Cheers to the best fandom in the world. You guys rock it.

_I've never fallen from quite this high_

_Fallin' into your ocean eyes_

* * *

On the one hand, Dan only got Trixie every other weekend.

On the other, he _did_ promise Lucifer a date night.

Chloe took Trixie back early Sunday afternoon instead of that night.

If she was surprised Lucifer was still at Dan’s place (or again), she didn’t comment on it. Trixie exchanged a look with her mother that remained indecipherable to him but made Chloe grin.

Apparently having (quiet) gay sex down the hall hadn’t psychologically damaged his kid after all. He preferred to think she didn’t know anything about it, even if she was fast approaching the age where that kind of thing wasn’t gross or weird or even unknown. Before the divorce, they and Trixie had to have an ‘adult conversation’ about knocking on bedroom doors before opening them. The talk wasn't necessary - she would never again open a door without checking first, but she also wasn't scarred for life by walking in on them. That he knew of.

It was one thing for a kid to walk in on their parents; a universal experience for most, including himself (shudder) - he had a bunch of siblings for a reason. It wasn't just because their religion called for producing lots of kids - it was another thing to deal with new relationships. Or so he thought - Trixie seemed more than happy to have Lucifer over, regardless of why or how.

Once again, Dan sent a silent thank-you to Whomever that he lived (and dated) post-2000 (and if he was really honest, post-2010 because if Trixie turns out to be gay, he wouldn't want her to deal with that shit from before it was fucking legalized either) and not in a time he’d have to hide a relationship with Lucifer. He also quietly reminded himself not to ask if he would actually go to Hell for such a thing. 

It was too much to go through on a beautiful Sunday morning.

Chloe looked good. She smiled when she came in, eyes clear and her clothing put together. Dan assumed she was at least a little upset over the break-up with Marcus; who wouldn’t be? Despite not having a huge amount of time for planning a wedding, they must have at least discussed it - where they’d live, how Trixie would be impacted and other long-term plans. It was too late to ask now, and he wouldn't.

Dan felt little guilt tugs about Charlotte, and they hadn’t even gotten that far into the relationship. 

Charlotte would be fine without him. Just like Chloe. They were all mostly functional adults.

In any case, Chloe assuaged any bad-father vibes he had lingering around himself over calling her early; she wanted company in her otherwise empty apartment, with Maze off bounty-hunting and Pierce no longer in the picture. Even Trixie was okay with it, instantly understanding he and Lucifer wanted some private time together before work on Monday.

When Trixie took off with her mom, Lucifer even returned her hug. A little. The Devil had a real fondness for the girl, even if he himself couldn’t (wouldn’t) admit it out loud. 

Dan knew the look. He went through it himself when his girl didn’t want public parental acknowledgment, and he had to stand off to the side and be ‘the cool dad’. 

Progress was progress, and he very much wanted Lucifer in his kid’s life. Lucifer could verbally protest all he wanted, but buying her whatever thing she laid eyes on first - candy at the movie, a huge plush rainbow narwhal at a beach vendor - wasn’t just an indulgence to annoy Dan and spoil her for the things Dan himself couldn’t afford, as Lucifer insinuated in passing. 

If Lucifer wasn’t yet convinced that he's not something evil (and okay, maybe not anymore, Hell sounds awful), he will by the time Dan is done with him. 

* * *

Maze texted Lucifer saying that she had a lead on Puck and that she was headed ‘somewhat south-east.’ 

Dan couldn’t make up his mind on where to take Lucifer now that they had the rest of the day together. He wanted somewhere...peaceful, without many people around. After a moment's consideration, he gave directions and had Lucifer drive them to Sequoia Park. 

If anyone else were driving, it would have taken all afternoon and into the evening just to get there. With Lucifer at the wheel and well over the speed limit - nearly causing Dan any number of heart-attacks - they made it in two and a half hours.

Once he accepted Lucifer wasn’t going to murder either of them with his driving, Dan was able to enjoy the scenery for the last bit of the trip.

The trees truly were awe-inspiring. He needed to come back with Trixie sometime soon.

He hadn’t been here in years, which was a little depressing as it was a fantastic park. They walked past signs telling them not to stray off the path, which Lucifer ignored almost immediately, striking off in one particular direction and away from any potential campers. People tended to prefer camping in designated areas. Dan suddenly remembered ticks in the underbrush might be another problem, but Lucifer waved him off about it, “they won’t bother either of us, not while I’m here.”

Seeing the enormous trees in person once again prompted Dan to ask if God had intended the redwoods to be so huge. 

Which got a response of ‘if He did, perhaps you should consider how He feels about humanity’s effect on the diminishing numbers of said trees.’

Dan shut up about that but asked Lucifer if he was involved in any part of creation instead.

He didn’t get an immediate response. As they walked further into the park along a lonely and unused trail, Dan began to feel the age of the forest, a blink in time of everything else, but old to him. In the darkening afternoon light, pricks of stars could be seen, slowly revealing themselves in the night sky.

Lucifer looked up at them.

He had changed into clothing more appropriate for walking around in a park, though Dan suspected the brands were still pricey. His alternate outfit of ‘workout chic’ clung to his chest and outlined his figure almost as well as any of his suits. Lucifer seemed to know where he intended to lead, so Dan followed, happy to let his feet go on autopilot and admire the view, both ahead of him in clinging clothing and overhead in interwoven branches.

During the time they had been walking, Dan noticed his night vision getting better. Around the time Dan had started to feel the walk, Lucifer stopped at an outcropping of rock, dangerously close under normal circumstances. 

Dan stopped drooling long enough to notice Lucifer’s attention hadn't wavered from the night sky. But he was smirking just a little, aware of Dan's attention as he came to a stop alongside.

Lucifer pointed up. “That was my main part. The stars.”

He didn’t have a good reply to that, but looked up at the sky, while it got darker and more stars came out like diamonds. Down in the city, light pollution blocked out most of the night sky, leaving it so bright that most of the stars were drowned out. Out here, it was like ice glittering on velvet, with more becoming visible as full night came on.

Lucifer continued, “Mum and Dad did most of the job, creating the universe. I helped spin gas and dust into stars where it needed a bit of help. Where Dad said to. I moved solar systems with a wave of my hand. I sent rocks hurtling across space toward what I believed was nothing - but I didn’t question it.”

“What about...us?”

He grinned. “I played a bit of billiards with this system, sending planets careening into each other. Your smarter humans are right - the moon was born of the earth. She spit her sister out of her own body from a massive collision. A billion years passed before life began to even think about forming again on the earth until it cooled again enough for it."

And there went his brain. Again. “There was life before that happened?”

“I guess Dad needed to start over.”

“Wait, you murdered a planet’s worth of life-”

“It was only microbes, dear. And on Father’s say-so.”

His mind stressed, doing some math. “So, you were on good terms with your Dad longer than you haven’t been?”

“It wasn’t until He made humans that I started to question Him. He put up with it for a little while, dismissing my concerns. My jealousy of you. I didn’t _know_ then that you weren’t immortal. I didn’t know human souls would begin to show up in Hell until they did. It was chaos in the early days of Hell.”

Dan peered over the edge. It wasn’t far down, but a person would definitely die if they fell off it badly. “I’m guessing you didn’t think of bringing me up here to talk about Hell.”

“No. I thought perhaps we could find a nice place to go for an unobserved flight. Well, you, anyway. I need to hang back in case you aren’t able to control your wings.” 

“Oh! That sounds-’

Lucifer shoved him off the edge of the cliff.

“YOU _DICK!_ ” 

Dan thought a number of unsavory things about Lucifer in the half-second before his wings leapt free from their pockets, spreading to their full width and catching him before he fell more than ten or fifteen feet. 

His shoulders felt like the unaccustomed exercise had wrenched them. But the view was worth it. He kicked his heels, looking for gravity or ground or something, before deciding it wasn’t helping. He couldn’t resist the urge to keep his arms held out like he was trying to tread water. 

He couldn’t take his eyes off the treetops below, until he did, gradually raising his eyeline until he could see where the sky and trees met. He flicked a glance further upward and nearly threw up. 

His heart beat faster than the wings, pounding in his chest so hard it felt like it was trying to escape his ribs.

A startled owl dove around him and made a disgusted sound. He wanted to comment aloud, but the wind stole his breath away. 

_Why the fuck did he want to apologize to an_ **_owl?_ **

His back stretched and flexed as his body floated up and down with the wingbeats. They seemed to be doing their own thing, which was awesome because Dan had _no_ idea what he was doing. 

Lucifer yelled something from the top of the cliff, drawing attention to the fact that Dan had been flying in a mostly straight line away from where he had been pushed, and steadily drifting downward.

Drifting was way better than falling, even if it felt like he left half his organs somewhere behind him.

He tried to turn around, which sent him tumbling ass over teacup a few times. 

Slowly, like a drunk hummingbird, Dan righted himself in the correct direction and flew toward the source of the sound of Lucifer’s voice.

Again, he had a problem of how to go back ‘up.'

He managed to slow down before hitting the cliff face but feared he’d have to flatten himself against the rocks and climb back up without the use of his wings. The rocks didn’t look very friendly, and the new muscles were starting to protest the extended use.

_Shit._

Lucifer wouldn’t be able to hear him from a hundred feet down, so he thought at him. _Now what?_

There was a long pause. Dan’s wings and shoulders started to ache from the strain of hovering in place.

_Can you actually hear me?_

_Yeah. I’m running out of steam too._

Lucifer sounded…upset _. Well then. A moment._

A moment passed. His muscles were struggling to keep him upright and he started looking closer at the rocks for any open place that would hold his weight. Dan felt a hand grab the collar of his jacket, and he nearly pissed himself. 

Lucifer pulled him up, somehow keeping clear of Dan’s wings in defiance of physics, his own flapping brilliant white back up to the top of the cliff where they started. His panic quickly receded, replaced with regret the flight was over already. 

Before he even regained complete motor control of his legs, Dan shoved Lucifer against a tree and (after quickly deciding that punching the Devil probably wouldn’t do him any favors) kissed him.

* * *

The colorful wings vanished almost immediately. Lucifer's furled as soon as he touched ground again.

Daniel kissed him within an inch of his life, shoving him against the closest upright surface (giant tree) and pulling at his clothes.

He didn't even have time to make a joke about hardwood. 

It was _different_ for Lucifer. When this happened with any other partner, they were just... _horny_.

Daniel _wanted_ him. He could feel it in his kiss, his hands on him. 

Wanted _him._

Not for the fact he was handsome, or rich or powerful. 

And Daniel knew who he was. Is. 

Not worrying about running out of air was a good thing right now.

Now if he could just deal with the bloody problem of his partner in Schroedinger's Cat status of being or not being... _something_ in the celestial order.

Well. _That_ box is wide open. 

It's the cat part that's the issue. 

Dan dropped to his knees.

* * *

Dan watched the traffic as Lucifer drove back, dancing past other drivers as easily as breathing. A million things raced through his brain. He wanted to fly anywhere he could, now. 

His shoulders ached but didn't hurt as much as he thought they would.

He hoped Maze didn’t find Puck.

* * *

They went back to Lucifer's, which was a good call. They stopped long enough for Lucifer to change back into a suit and fresh shirt, but not long enough to potentially upset his next-door neighbors with the sounds of an abused bed frame. 

There was time for that later.

While not strictly necessary, Lucifer wanted to check in with his club. It practically ran itself, according to him, but like previously made plans with Trixie, he had promised to put in an appearance. Devil of his word and all that. 

Which was fine. Dan got to hang back and watch him play the crowd _and_ the piano.

Lucifer made his rounds and checked in with staff while Dan got a drink at the bar. He offered to start a tab for himself, but Lucifer must have signaled or said something when he wasn't watching because the (hot) guy mixologist waved off his pre-offered card with a smirk. On the other hand, he was given something red and frozen with an umbrella and a cherry. He gave a second look at the free drink but took it anyway, stuffing a few bucks into the tip jar. 

He wasn’t _that_ cheap. 

Waves of the crowd parted around Lucifer like they were the Red Sea, and he was Moses. Dan decided to keep that observation to himself, but it was fun to watch. Patrons, younger and hotter than Dan cast longing looks at his lover. He wondered in passing how many had been with him already. He found he didn't care all that much. Not when he's the one going upstairs with him.

A woman with fire-red hair came out of the throng and sidled up next to his chair. Dan's heart skipped a beat. But she wasn't the fae; she was just a normal, super hot nameless woman who could be a young and upcoming model like half of L.A.. She tossed her coppery curls and smirked at him over her drink, noticing who he was watching - who everyone was watching - "think you have a shot with him?"

He sat a little more casually on his bar stool. "Yeah, I think I might."

She took the seat next to his, angling her long legs to be on display for a certain club owner out on the floor. Her tight gold dress barely contained her cleavage and she appeared to be well aware of it. "There's _no_ _way_ you're his type. Did you even _try_ to dress for this place?"

Dan tipped his glass at her with his fruity whatever. _This_ was a game he hadn't gotten to play since he was in his early twenties. He shrugged. "You know what they say about opposites attracting."

She snorted and paid for her own drink, a chocolate martini. "Someone's confident." She didn't tip.

 _I can still taste him in the back of my throat._ "I'm younger than I look, too."

She wrinkled her nose. "You aren't metro _at all_. What makes you think he'd even look at you?"

Dan resisted the urge to pray, knowing Lucifer didn't like it. Instead, he sipped his weird concoction. It was actually pretty good. He leaned toward her conspiratorially and added in a swagger for good measure, "you know, I helped interview a few dozen people he slept with. I think I picked up some pointers from them."

"What are you, a stalker?"

"Nah. Worse. LAPD. We _work_ together."

She grimaced. "Ugh. You think you know him, huh?"

"Do you?"

"Not yet. But I have a good feeling about tonight. I wore my sexiest set of - wouldn't you like to know? just for Lucifer."

 _I'm wearing his boxers._ "I gotta say, you sound prepared."

Lucifer finally wove his way towards them, moving as elegantly as always. Dan raised his eyebrows and cut a glance at the woman next to him. Lucifer got the message and put on the charm. He turned to her with a smoldering look that melted patrons and suspects alike, settling in between her and Dan. " _Hello,_ darling."

She beamed, completely ignoring Dan in favor of Lucifer. That was fine with him; he could smirk unnoticed. She tittered, "I don't believe we've officially met."

"We danced briefly. Lucifer. Morningstar. Pleasure."

"Evie. I've been hoping to do so much more than meet you. I hear you have a spectacular penthouse upstairs."

Lucifer's face made an interesting twitch at her name. Dan gave her a closer look. But she still seemed normal to him. Lucifer recovered quickly. "Have you now? Are you a regular here?"

"Oh yes, I've heard you sing a few times too, you have a beautiful voice."

"Thank you. Anything special you're celebrating tonight?"

"I'm just out with friends. You know one of them." She gestured, and a blonde saw her and waved back.

He acknowledged her, leaning a little closer to Evie and touching her hand lightly. Lucifer didn’t miss the possessive look from Dan, either. "Ah, yes, Bethany. I believe that was strip poker night - a private, friendly game upstairs. I enjoyed her. I'm afraid tonight, I'm expecting a different kind of company, dear, though you do look scrumptious."

She pouted with lowered lashes, "I'm here right now, and it sounds like she's late."

Lucifer drew back, not without a teasing caress. "He's already here, as a matter of fact."

She blinked and peered into the crowd as if the mystery man might appear. "If he's hot enough, we could make tonight even more interesting."

Did all of Lucifer's one-night stands sound this desperate? Dan sucked up the rest of his drink and pushed it away. He was feeling cheeky from the booze, which also helped mask some of the oncoming muscle soreness. "Yeah, how hot is he?"

Evie pursed her lips at Dan. "I wasn't talking to you!"

Lucifer smiled at him, and he nearly melted on the spot, overcome with warmth. Lucifer closed in on him, framing Dan with his arms, Dan's back to the bar edge. "Well, he's no Henry Cavill, but he is fit. And he has stunningly beautiful eyes that are the color of the ocean in the morning light."

Dan let his palms run up Lucifer's arms. "He sounds handsome enough."

"Hmm. And is he interested in sharing _my_ bed with anyone else?"

"Not tonight he's not. Tonight he wants to make all kinds of noises he can't at home. Just for him." Dan pulled Lucifer in by the lapels and kissed him. 

When he let go, Evie looked pole-axed. 

Lucifer grinned at her, still in Dan's arms. "Sorry, love, looks like I'm spoken for."

"Is this a roleplay thing…?"

Lucifer cocked an eyebrow.

Dan couldn’t resist smirking a little, "I mean, he does look pretty awesome when he's dressed up like me."

"Liar."

Dan kissed him again. "Yeah, me ripping your clothes off when you're douching it up might just be weird."

Evie looked at her drink, left it on the bar, and went back to the dance floor, wondering what the hell just happened. 

On the way up, Dan thought about all the nights Lucifer had given himself to what everyone else wanted.

* * *

Dan kissed him until the doors opened. He tasted so good, and he was a great kisser. There was passion in every press of his lips, hungry and wanting. The ever-present facial hair pressed against his chin and he wanted it scraping against his body. This gorgeous, sexy devil wanted him, _again_. Dan was going to learn to deep throat a cock if it killed him.

Dan had his arms around him and didn't want to let go, but clothes didn't shed themselves. He broke the kiss long enough to speak. "I want you."

Lucifer didn't bother to hide a cheeky grin. "Well. _Obviously_."

Lucifer unbuttoned the top of his own shirt, showing off his perfect skin. His chest was too beautiful to leave alone. Dan kissed his sternum as he pulled the shirt buttons apart roughly. Lucifer purred approval and attacked Dan's shirt too.

Dan was quickly learning how to undo another man's belt, tugging it out smoothly and without the buckle hitting the hardwood floor too hard. The bulge in Lucifer's pants pressed against his own, in equal parts need and want. He groaned, instinctively grinding a little.

Dan tilted his head up for Lucifer and got another hungry kiss that felt like every first kiss ever. There was a broad hand on his waist and one on the back of his head, running thumb and fingers through his hair. He reached up and pulled on soft black hair that slid through his fingers like stiff silk. He'd never had a _hair_ thing before, but apparently he did now. He pressed his short nails into Lucifer's scalp. Earning more soft moans. 

They broke apart and Dan kissed the side of Lucifer's neck, something unwinding in his stomach and becoming concrete in his resolve. 

_It's not a fucking firing squad, Dan._

He really needed to stop talking to himself in the third person.

Dan licked the back of his teeth. He looked up at Lucifer, determination in his gut, even if he wasn't sure it was warranted or needed. "I mean, I want to give myself to you."

Lucifer raised an eyebrow and Dan blushed furiously. "Do you? You don't have to, love. Sometimes even people who want cock exclusively draw the line at taking one, regardless of how."

"Wait, really? Wait, does that include women?"

He clucked, "it does. 'Straight' doesn't mean penetration is always on the table, and of course, lesbians can get very creative. I'll have to send you to some sites. Informative ones, not porn. Or not _just_ porn."

He continued, "everyone has their own set of desires, and there are all sorts of ways to satisfy them. Right now, we're talking about yours. We can stop at any point if you like. If you don't really want me that way, there's no cause to try it. Of course, I rather like the view of your fine arse, and most who do give it a whirl end up enjoying it - at least with me."

"Some still don't?"

"Dear, I'm the devil, not a psychologist. Obviously, I don't get why people feel shame for doing whatever they want within a consensual arrangement. If we try it and you don't like it, I won't ask you to contort yourself mentally for me. But I do appreciate the offer."

Dan hardened in a way that had nothing to do with Lucifer's hands on him. Almost nothing. His breath caught. "I do want to. You."

The devil had the nerve - or maybe the right - to smirk. "Say it."

He swallowed, and found he could. "I want you, your gorgeous cock, up my ass, taking me."

"Hmm. Do I have your permission to try something to get you started?"

 _Just how many stages are there?_ "As long as it's not like the wing thing; tell me first. What are you going to do?"

Lucifer's voice ran through him like liquid. "Tongue, if you think it will help, or we can start another way."

In principle, it sounded good, but also, tongue in ass? Could that _possibly_ be pleasurable for Lucifer? He wanted to wait until he had time for a _very_ thorough shower before risking embarrassing himself. "I...uh. I'd rather you be touching me. Sideways?"

"I do like touching you. Spoon it is."

Lucifer tugged him down to the bed and positioned them so that he pressed up behind Dan, hard at his low back. The pop of a cap echoed and died. Lucifer had him pull his leg up, opening himself up a bit and then sliding a warm, slick finger between his cheeks. The body behind him radiated heat and raw sexuality. Lucifer's long, muscular legs rubbed up behind Dan's, lightly hairy and brushing along the backs of his with an electric touch.

Dan cupped his own aching cock, stroking and pulling lightly. He was so hard. 

Not actually being able to see what was going on made him a little anxious. "Oh fuck."

"That's the idea." Lucifer pushed lightly into him.

He tensed. "Oh."

"Alright?"

"Uhm." 

Lucifer kissed the back of his neck, dragged his teeth along flushed skin. Dan leaned into it, feeling all of the places they touched, the spots of heat and closeness that echoed in his soul. He breathed, slowly pushing his hips back. Anxiety and fear are two completely different things. He wasn't afraid. Lucifer would take care of him, was taking care of him. "That's...nice."

"That's only the first finger joint. Can you feel yourself resisting? I want to give you more, to take this lovely opening of yours completely."

He could feel the tension he held. He counted to four, then breathed out again for another four count. Lucifer pulled a little around the pressure. It was neither pleasant not unpleasant.

But it was hot. 

Lucifer said, "I'm taking it up to two fingers."

"The first one doesn't feel...deep?"

"I'm not. Getting you to relax is the most important part. If I do it right, once I'm in you past the head of my cock, you probably won't be able to tell how much is there until I'm fully in. Almost all of your feeling for it is just at your lip, until I find your _other_ sensitive spot." Dan could hear the smile in his voice as he twitched his hand, letting Dan feel the difference between the joint and slimmer finger, not that there was much. "That and the emotional aspect."

The second fingertip added to the first, pushing in. Dan arched, feeling the tip of Lucifer's dick resting, hard and wanting, waiting just above his penetrating fingers. Lucifer rubbed the tip of himself along Dan's crack, letting him feel the hard, slickened end. "Shit. Fuck me."

"Not yet." Lucifer's fingers made a small movement, enough to remind Dan this wasn't something to be rushed. It was a mix of discomfort and desire that confused parts of his body, and set fire to others. "But you sound like you're past your own nerves. How are you?"

He controlled his breathing once more, picturing Lucifer over him, thrusting over and over into him. "Good. Really good."

His lover smiled against his neck. "That's the kind of prayer I don't mind so much."

Dan pushed his hips back, harder. Lucifer flexed the fingers in him and he moaned. The pair of fingers sank to the knuckles, and Dan felt Lucifer's ring brush his asshole, a hard bit that contrasted with hot skin. He kept the prayer going, imagining Lucifer pounding into him, coming in him, deeply and hard. 

Lucifer hissed a breath. "Bloody Hell. May I take you now?"

"You fucking better."

Lucifer withdrew his fingers, quickly slathering on a lot more lube and lining up his cock with Dan's ass. He pushed in shallowly, barely an intrusion at all.

It burned a little, making Dan's dick soften almost immediately. Everything else felt wonderful. He groaned, reaching for anything to grab onto. Lucifer pressed the head of his cock in and he felt himself accepting it, wanting all of it. Pleasure and pain, mostly pleasure. And anticipation.

"Still alright?"

"Burns. Good though. I can feel my fucking pulse in my asshole."

"That's normal. Tell me if you feel dry _anywhere_ so I can fix it."

Dan reached back to pull on Lucifer's hips. "It's perfect. Am good. Please move soon."

Lucifer's cock slid in past the head with a gentle roll of his hips and Dan sighed involuntarily as the intrusion became a fullness, a hot core of desire.

If only it wasn't so _wet._ The throbbing counterpoint in his ass became exquisite. He stretched around Lucifer and it was a little hard to breathe. But Lucifer was patient and gentle and Dan longed for a future love-making where he can just be _taken_ without all this slow careful process where it felt like he could only take a half-inch at a time. 

There were a lot of half-inches left to go. Dan wanted badly to feel Lucifer bottoming out in him, without any space at all between them. 

He needed more. "Fuck. Get on top of me."

"As you wish." Lucifer pressed Dan onto his stomach, following the motion without pulling out. "You feel lovely, by the way, nice and tight. Harder to touch your cock this way."

"I just want this for a bit. Feeling you." He got back into the prayer, or at least on the surface of it - Lucifer's dick made it hard to concentrate. He passed on the feelings in his body, the light adhesion between them brought about by Dan's back breaking out in a fine sweat. The delicious weight on him as Lucifer spread his legs and their calves touched side by side. His feet were outside Dan's, which sort of didn't make sense, but seemed to work. "Fuck, you feel good."

Lucifer moved, sliding until he was fully inserted. He leaned up a little, putting his hands on Dan's back, and driving in for a fuller, longer thrust. 

Their hips met. Lucifer moved with control and willful motions, his breath starting to come ragged on Dan's neck. "Luce! Fuck!" He threw the waves of pleasure at Lucifer, who gasped and moaned and rolled his hips harder with a stutter. "G-yes!"

A low chuckle resonated near his ear. "I may have to make you pay for that."

Dan knew he was playing, but he bucked against him anyway, imagining what Lucifer might look like in his Devil skin, and knowing of only one being he'd be praying to after this. 

"No horns. No tail, but-" Lucifer gasped something inarticulate and moved his arms to wrap along Dan's shoulders, gripping them hard. His body tensed by degrees as he sought his peak.

Dan got lost in the weight and movement, Lucifer's breath coming tighter. "I want to feel you come in me."

"Are you close?"

"Mmm. Not yet. But I want you to. I want you to claim me." He felt amazing. Dan clamped down, sending the feelings in prayer, how good he felt, filling every part of him.

Lucifer moaned deliciously. Dan hooked a foot over one of Lucifer's calves, pulling, pressing back and up against Lucifer's hips and chest. "Ah. Fuck, yes."

Lucifer buried himself, hard and keep and came, spilling hot. His chest heaved, but Dan found he didn't really want more air right now. Lucifer kissed his neck. 

Dan panted, reaching back to squeeze his ass, "can you keep going?"

When he got some breath back, "oh, yes, Daniel. Might be a bit of a mess, after."

He found it appealing, Lucifer's come-covered cock bringing him to ecstasy. Lucifer did too, apparently, starting a new, steady and relentless rhythm that shoved Dan down into the mattress over and over. "Oh. My devil…"

Breathlessly, "Yes?"

"I think...that's...the...fuck!" He managed to send the feeling, what must be his prostate being stimulated. Holy fuck. _fuckfuckfuck._

Lucifer pulled him up to his knees, gripping his cock, barely missing a beat, fucking into him. Dan reached back, under Lucifer's arms, holding his hips as he slammed home again and again. "I'm going to come again."

"Yes...please. Lucifer…!"

His whole body felt like it was thrumming in time with his orgasm and Lucifer's throbbing cock. Lucifer held his head against his face, the scruff prickles adding to every other sensation in his being, breathing hard. Dan was vaguely aware that Lucifer's cock pulsed in time with him too. Lucifer kissed his ear. 

Dan wrapped his arms over Lucifer's, leaning back against him. 

The fucker was still hard, but Dan needed him out, soon, sensitive after coming hard enough to- "we _really_ fucked up the sheets, huh?"

"You say the strangest things after sex, love."

 _I think I love you._ "Sorry?"

"Don't stop, I like it."

When Dan passed out again it was in the arms of his lover, curled up and at peace and deeply, deeply satisfied.

* * *

_(Maze has added Douche and Devil to group chat)_

**_Douche:_** _Uh._

 **_Devil:_ ** _Hello, Maze!_

 **_Demoness:_ ** _The good news is, I found Puck_

 **_Douche:_ ** _Great! I think. Where is she?_

 **_Demoness:_ ** _So, here’s the thing._

 **_Devil:_ ** _You shagged her, didn’t you?_

 **_Demoness:_ ** _It’s not like you paid me beforehand._

 **_Douche:_ ** _Wait, do you have her or not?_

 **_Demoness:_ ** _Oh, I had her. I had her up the wall, in bed, on the floor, on my bike._

 **_Devil:_ ** _Tell me more._

 **_Douche:_ ** _Luce._

 **_Devil:_ ** _About where you had her. Found her. Either._

 **_Demoness:_ ** _She tasted like strawberries._

 **_Douche:_ ** _I thought you hated fairies?_

 **_Demoness:_ ** _That was before I saw Puck._

 **_Devil:_ ** _I sent you a sketch!_

 **_Douche:_ ** _How was that thing remotely helpful?_

 **_Demoness:_ ** _In person I mean. It was correct in some features. Her boobs are magical._

 **_Devil:_ ** _They were quite nice from what I saw._

 **_Douche:_ ** _(typing)_

 **_Devil:_ ** _Don’t fret, darling, yours are adequate._

 **_Douche:_ ** _I don’t have boobs._

 **_Devil:_ ** _And you more than make up for it in… other departments._

 **_Demoness:_ ** _Oh, that’s right, he does._

 **_Devil:_ ** _Oh, when did you see him naked? He has many nice features. Daniel, did you and Maze hook up too?_

 **_Douche:_ ** _No._

 **_Devil:_ ** _I could invite her up for a threesome if you’re interested._

 **_Demoness:_ ** _I’d be down for that. But I’m bringing my strap-on and one of you is going to suck it. Or both. Hot either way._

 **_Douche:_ ** _… we are getting way off track here. Where is Puck?_

 **_Demoness:_ ** _Fine. I found her in Texas._

 **_Douche:_ ** _you have got to be kidding me._

 **_Demoness:_ ** _She was headed to a cruise port. So she’s probably out to sea by now._

 **_Douche:_ ** _You let her go!?_

 **_Demoness:_ ** _Don’t be an ass. She got away. She’s a fairy. They do things like that._

 **_Devil:_ ** _She shagged you so hard you didn’t even notice, didn’t she?_

 **_Demoness:_ ** _I came like, eight times. When I woke up, I was completely covered in fairy juice and glitter._

 **_Douche:_ ** _I already regret asking, but … glitter?_

 **_Demoness:_ ** _Fairy, Dan, keep up. Hmmm. or keep it up._

 **_Devil:_ ** _If he’s not up now, he will be soon enough. Stop hiding in the bathroom, love, I want to do more things to you._

**_Douche: (TYPING)_ **

**_Demoness:_ ** _Oh! Did he do that thing with his finger?_

 **_Demoness:_ ** _Hey, maybe we can work him up to a good angry fuck. That’s really fun._

 **_Devil:_ ** _He did._

 **_Devil:_ ** _He absolutely looks angry. That’s a rage-boner if I ever saw one. :D_

 **_Devil:_ ** _(eggplant emoji)(eggplant emoji)(eggplant emoji)(fire emoji)(fire emoji)(fire emoji)_

_(minutes pass)_

**_Demoness:_ ** _Are you done yet?_

 **_Demoness:_ ** _I’m gonna keep tracking her and you don’t even have to pay me. I owe her a couple of orgasms._

 **_Demoness:_ ** _Just tell Chloe rent will be late if I’m not back in a week._

 **_Demoness:_ ** _Hell, invite HER to a threeway._

 **_Demoness:_ ** _That’d be really hot too. I'd buy tickets to that show._

 **_Demoness:_ ** _Damn, boys. Are you two still fucking?_

 **_Demoness:_ ** _I’m gonna go find my vibrator and think about you two doing it. FYI._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Too on the nose? You know she would do that. 
> 
> Embrace your inner demon. They need love too.
> 
> I've had Billie Eilish stuck in my head for weeks. She's awesome.
> 
> Next chapter is a lot more plot. At least my muse assures me there will be, but she's pretty damn fickle.


	10. A Slight Twist

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which there is some angst, a wing reveal and Dan is a badass.
> 
> Trigger warnings listed in bottom notes, jump to there for them if you feel need any related to violence.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy a whole heap of plot. This and the next chapter are plot only. Crazy, right?

Dan’s shoulders were absolutely killing him and no amount of sex could distract him from the whole body soreness brought about by literally flying for a few minutes. On the bright side, the unrelenting _ache_ didn’t set in fully for twenty-four hours. But holy cow, he was not going to the gym for a week, until things healed. On the other hand - _flying._ Which was completely awesome and he wanted to do it again.

Getting pushed off the cliff had had the opposite effect Lucifer had been going for. The Devil had wanted Dan to feel as Lucifer did; having the ability to fly was a pain in the ass and to be avoided at all costs. 

After Dan got over the initial fear factor, he loved it. Who the fuck wouldn't want to fly under their own power? All the more reason to get his kid In on the secret so he could take her flying, assuming he’d be able to carry _any_ weight besides his own. He'd have to try it with a sandbag first or something. He had the body strength easy, but it was hard to tell how strong the wings were.

It's not like physics really applied here.

Lucifer wasn’t happy about the ‘Celestial Radio’ either, where he and Dan could talk to each other mentally. He has now been reliably informed that a full angel wouldn’t have this kind of muscle soreness, let alone pulled ones, especially from flight. When true angels got injured (usually by demons or other angels) they healed up within a day or less. By Tuesday morning, he had a full-on body ache reminiscent of being hit by a car. Or several cars. Which he hadn't been before, but it probably felt like this.

Luckily he was also riding the high of being sexed-up for several days in a row. _By_ an angel. 

He couldn't complain. 

He had been resting his hands in his pants pockets all day because it hurt like hell to do more than lift a pen, and even that wasn’t fun.

_Worth it._

He couldn’t return any sex favors until he felt better, or at least could reliably grip anything. 

He _could_ just lie there and let Lucifer enjoy him, but frankly, neither of them particularly wanted _that_. 

It had only been about a day without sex anyway, and Lucifer didn't want to hear about wing soreness. 

Dan sort of deliberately forgot to talk about the possibility of Lucifer finding sex elsewhere while Dan was out of commission. He'd always been more jealous than not, almost always for no reason. He didn't know if knowing who Lucifer was made it better or worse. 

_He can have anyone he wants again after I'm dead._

_Or if I end up losing him over it._

_Fuck, I'm bad at this._

Ella poked him in the arm and he flinched from the unexpected pain flare. “Oh, hey, sorry buddy, you okay?”

“Uh. Yeah, rough workout. I overextended myself.”

She grinned wickedly. “I bet you did! Nudge nudge wink wink, know what I mean, eehhh?”

He fought down a flash of heat. “Not that it’s any of your business-”

She took a step back, crossing her arms. “Okay, sorry. Someone’s grumpy today.”

Maybe he was a little. “There’s a lot going on right now.” Or you know, a lot grumpy. 

“Yeah, I saw the sketch our artist did of your chick. That’s one hot criminal.”

Well. At least it wasn’t the stick figure drawing Luce sent to Maze. Since the demon’s update though, the odds of the sketch being at all useful were pretty low. Still, maybe Dan could track down which cruise ship she’d gotten on and send it there. But odds were she’d changed her appearance by now - he forgot to ask Maze if she still looked like the person they met.

Or, you know, he could just sit on the idea and hope Maze wouldn’t be able to find her again. 

He sort of forgot he was talking to Ella, which might have been a solid clue that he needed to find someone he could unload on. Maybe he should pay Dr. Linda a visit. 

Dan remembered to finish his conversation with Ella. “She’s a real handful.”

“The artist said they didn’t know what she’s wanted for?”

“Person of Interest.” The artist didn’t really need to know and kept their questions focused on features of the work itself. It was also lucky that someone didn't have to be formally charged with a crime to be sought for questioning.

His eyes settled on the cross around her neck. She had worn it every single day he'd seen her. “Hey, you go to church, right?”

“Yup! Not like, all the time. I'm not religious about it. I mean, I am-"

"No, I get it."

"Major holidays, mass, when fam is in town. When I feel like I'm a little due, you know? Do you wanna come with me some time?"

"Uh. I don't know." I've _b_ _een worshiping in private. On my knees. Different_ _deity_ _._

"It's cool, no presh."

“But you’re good friends with Lucifer too, right?"

“Yeah, why wouldn’t I be? He’s _super_ nice to me and everyone else. I mean, I still don’t know if that’s his real name, or what the deal is with whatever role he’s going for. I mean, it can’t possibly still be available after all this time? He's either really determined to get the part, or having too much fun doing it. If anyone is going to cast someone as _The Devil_ for anything, it probably won’t be the playful, sweet and innocent version that he’s doing right?”

Dan’s brain missed a beat. “Innocent? Him?"

“Yeah, I mean, not _that_ way, obv, but he brings new meaning to 'Devil may care’, doesn’t he? I mean, _you’d_ know. It’s not that he wants to just sleep with a ton of people, it’s that he really just kind of loves everyone - he wants to do things for them. I mean, he does these favors all the time, right, but how often does he actually collect? And when he does, is it for himself or someone else?”

Shit. She was right. Lucifer does way more favors than he pulls in. There was one major one though before Ella started working with them - when Lucifer joined the LAPD as a consultant. 

That was back before he mellowed out some though. He probably still would have done it, pulled a huge favor, but these days, he'd be less of a dick about it.

Probably.

Ella didn’t work with him directly as much as him or Chloe. She had a bit of separation from the paperwork side of crime-solving - she found things and sent them in, but didn’t necessarily connect dots outside of physical evidence collected.

Speaking of which.

“Hey, the other day, Charlotte had said she had some files to drop off related to...uh-”

“Sinnerman, yeah. They’re in evidence. You wanna look at ‘em? I'll walk you there."

* * *

After Ella left him alone in the evidence room, he shut the door and locked it.

As he poured over the pile, it became clear that Charlotte's fears were not unfounded.

There were a number of alarming connections cropping up in her collection of information. It wasn’t complete, but it was more than enough to raise both questions and suspicions. 

A lot of it was pretty damning.

Fuck. Maybe his grumpy mood wasn’t completely unwarranted.

He dialed Lucifer first. 

“Hello, dear. Feeling up to a nooner?”

“How long, _exactly,_ has Pierce known who you are?”

“We need to work on your foreplay talk.”

“C’mon, man. You said he’s known about you for - eons - was that literal?”

“In the sense that it’s been more than one human lifetime, yes.”

“How many lifetimes?”

“All of them.”

Dan rubbed his face, grateful that Ella had left him to his own devices. “What do you mean by that?”

“All but half of one, I suppose, with him being the first child of the first humans.”

Was he serious? Of course he was serious. Dan didn’t go to church any longer, but he did grow up in it. No one knew how many kids Adam and Eve had, but two of them were well known. “Cain? What the Hell, Luce? Why doesn’t he look like, I dunno, a six-thousand-year-old man?”

“The Hell indeed. Cain was cursed to walk the earth forever. Got off easy, if you ask me. Our paths rarely crossed when I visited topside. He belongs in Hell, but he’s immortal; he stopped aging on the day he killed his brother, Abel.”

Dan put the phone down for a long second. He _really_ needed a therapist. And a drink. 

“Daniel?” Lucifer’s voice came through the phone a little strained.

Dan put his hands together, tented in front of his nose, willfully projecting, _give me a minute._

Lucifer hung up.

Fantastic.

The knot in his chest got heavier with every breath.

He did say ‘a minute’. And Lucifer might actually be busy with a case. He and Chloe were out somewhere working on yet another celebrity death, so likely he was needed.

_Or, you know, helpfully juggling fake boobs._

Dan shot a text off to Charlotte to come see him in the evidence room.

He knew he wasn’t being fair. But neither was Lucifer. He’d known, all this time about Marcus. 

Fuck. Chloe.

He was in so far over his head.

An overly polite knock and voice came from the door. “Daniel? May I come in?”

Dan bit his tongue on a ‘no’, but it must have come through anyway, as Lucifer followed up with, “I see. May I just talk to you from out here then?”

It would be a long time before Dan could forgive himself for how broken Lucifer sounded right then. “Dude, come in, but the door’s-” _locked._

It clicked and opened. Lucifer leaned in, worry written all over his face and Dan relented some. He stood and realized his wings were fluttering agitatedly in their pockets. 

Lucifer’s shoulders twitched as he shut the door again behind him. Hesitantly, he asked, “am I back to _dude_ , status then?”

Dan didn’t vocalize his response, terrified of what would come out of his mouth, but Lucifer smiled a little all the same, sensing or outright reading the underlying and tangled up throught process of ‘ _I’m upset but not mad, except that I actually am kind of mad but I want you here even if I don’t understand everything and holy shit you probably knew Moses too and what the actual fuck?’_

He held up a calming hand, “you mind using your words, darling?”

He sighed, stood and went to hold Lucifer’s hands, rubbing them with his thumbs and watching the black stone ring reflect the overhead lights. “I know you have a long, long past and it would _take_ lifetimes to hear it all. And I want to hear it. But _why_ didn’t you tell Chloe about Cain? In some fashion?"

Lucifer looked down at their linked hands, squeezing Dan’s smaller ones lightly. “It's what Pierce wanted. And because I thought she would make him better. Like she made _me_ better.”

“You’re such a dork. You make yourself better.”

“You married her.”

“I like to think we worked on each other. For better or for worse, as it goes. Turns out it was both. We were too competitive to stay together. We fought for the same things and fought _over_ the same things, and we were each other’s worst enemy _and_ best friend. Sometimes we still are.”

Lucifer looked up from their hands at a loss.

"Also, I was kind of a massive douche to her and she never once deserved it. I screwed it up. I guess it didn't rub off on me. I like to think she tried though. If you want to change, then change. No one, even someone as awesome as Chloe can do that for you."

His lip twitched. "She can make me want to."

"Take it from me, that's only half the battle."

"What's the other half?"

Dan pressed the original issue, “is Cain _dangerous_?”

“I didn’t believe so. I would never knowingly put Chloe and your spawn in danger. He wanted to die. He did die, several times, but he always comes back to life. Bounces back like the Energizer Bunny. He came here because he wanted my help, to help him figure out how to leave this earth permanently, then he met the Detective and fell in love with her.”

Dan shoved aside some other questions about why anyone would want to kill themselves. “And he doesn’t want to die anymore? Because of her? He wants to be a better person now?”

“I believed him when he said so. I fear I was wrong.”

Dan sighed and pulled Lucifer to him. Lucifer’s wings came out and wrapped around Dan and he hugged him tighter. “You believed him because you want to be better too? Or you believe you aren’t?”

Lucifer allowed his wings to stay out. “Yes.”

“Were you going to tell her who he was?”

“He was. He said he was. Obviously, he didn’t. I assumed once he did tell her, she would have come to me with questions.”

“I really didn’t see what she saw in him.”

“I used to say the same about you.”

Dan slugged him in the shoulder. His wings betrayed him by bursting free and wrapping around Lucifer’s. He looked up, then down. “Wow. That feels really nice.”

Lucifer grunted but bore it. “Don’t get any ideas. If you kiss me now, mine are going away.”

“Yeah, because full-body hugging you this close is _less_ sexy than a kiss. Weren't you out with Chloe?"

"I was. A minute was just enough time to fly here."

"I'm glad you’re here, but we need to talk about some stuff, and just how innocent Pierce or Cain or whatever actually is."

The knob turned behind them. The door was no longer locked.

Charlotte came in, looking up from her phone, "Dan, I got your-"

 _Was this going to keep_ _on_ _happening?_

She needed a second to process the scene in front of her. Two pairs of wings, two people. Dan's slightly variegated sapphire blue-hued (outer side) wings overlapping around Lucifer's glowing pure white wings. 

Lucifer sighed.

Her jaw hit the floor. “Wait - Lucifer refused to sleep with me, but you didn’t. Dan, did you have sex with your _mom?”_

Dan pulled away, blushing in anger and embarrassment and tucking his wings away. “No! I’m not an angel - Lucifer wouldn’t be with me at all if I were.”

“What _are_ you then?”

“Uh. Part fairy? Maybe? We’re still trying to figure it out.”

“Wait, when you said you didn’t believe me-”

“No, I didn’t - this is really super new. Like, I just figured out how to fly new.”

Lucifer furled his up as well, biting his lip, amused. “You broke up with Charlotte over me showing _her_ my wings?”

Which was just in time since Ella walked by, apparently following Charlotte. “Dude, you gotta stop telling people you have wings. Someone is going to really want to see them someday - plus - oh my God, Dan, you didn’t tell me that’s what happened!”

Dan tried to hide behind his hands. It wasn’t successful. “That’s not how it went down.”

“ _Lucifer broke you guys up?_ And now you’re dating him? Look, I know it’s not my place, but that’s like, super weird.”

“Can we just show her? Charlotte, you’re fine, right? It might be the only way we can keep ourselves from getting locked up for mass hysteria.”

Lucifer put his _determined_ face on. “It’s really not a good idea. What if I actually do break her?”

Ella threw her hands in the air. “How about you guys agree to group therapy?”

Dan sighed, dropped his hands and went over to Ella. “You haven’t known me that long, right? You know how annoyed I got with Lucifer.”

“Sexual tension. Duh.”

That stopped him a second. “Wait, really?”

“I mean, no one hates Lucifer! And he didn’t even steal your ex-wife or anything. Plus you guys love the same things, you steal each other’s food-”

“He started it!”

Lucifer looked at him, “you’re the one stealing my Ranch Puffs?”

“Well, revenge, sure.”

Charlotte waved her hands, “guys - I like Ella a lot, but how many people do we need in the club?”

Dan groaned, “well, frankly, it’d be a lot easier for all of us if everyone just accepted it.”

Ella took a step backward. “You guys are starting to freak _me_ out. And I have a legit invisible friend.”

Lucifer looked at her seriously, “maybe this will be easier than I thought. Fae very much enjoy being invisible friends. However, I still don’t think it’s a good idea.”

 _God-fuck-whatever-dammit._ Dan was still close enough to touch her. He was also close enough to close the door, so he did, and locked it. He took her hands but addressed Lucifer. “Luce?”

“Why must I always do the honors?”

“Because I don’t want to have _that_ entire conversation with Charlotte all over again, Amenadiel isn’t here, _and_ he doesn’t have the goods anyway.”

Lucifer rolled his eyes dramatically. “Well, if we can limit it to just Ms. Lopez...”

“Chloe needs to know too, eventually. For right now-”

“Fine, for now. But not because I think you’re right.”

“Why, then-”

Lucifer checked around him for obstacles, then unfurled his wings. 

Ella’s expression was much like Charlotte’s but for different reasons. “DUDE! I KNEW IT!”

She tackle hugged Lucifer, squeezing him around the waist like a full-on Trixie hug. “Okay, I didn’t know it, but I’m so happy I’m not crazy!”

Lucifer patted her on the head. “I would very much appreciate it if people would stop saying that whenever this happens. As long as everyone’s brain is intact, may we move on now?”

Dan bit his tongue. “Sooooo, Charlotte, got my message?"

* * *

Ella and Lucifer ended up heading out together, since Ella was needed there anyway. 

Dan gave him a quick kiss goodbye, once Charlotte left the room ahead of them. He didn’t envy Ella’s imminent tsunami of questions for Lucifer. Hopefully she’d forget all about the remark Lucifer made about ‘always do the honors.'

* * *

 **_Ella:_ ** _DUDE_

 **_Dan:_ ** _What?_

 **_Ella:_ ** _YOU HAVE WINGS TOO? CAN I SEE EM?_

 **_Dan:_ ** _Your capslock is on_

 **_Ella:_ ** _NO IT ISN’T_

 **_Dan:_ ** _Okay, yes, but it’s recent. And, uh, yes, I guess? No, I’m not Lucifer’s brother._

 **_Ella:_ ** _DUDE. I KNOW. LUCIFER TOLD ME_

 **_Dan:_ ** _You gotta stop that, seriously._

 **_Ella:_ ** _OH MY GOD_

 **_Dan:_ ** _Wait, he’s driving, right?_

 **_Ella:_ ** _Duh. Dan! You have to tell me_ **_everything!_ ** _Are you busy later?_

 **_Dan:_ ** _...Hey, Charlotte wants me to go with her tonight. She’s got some more stuff to go over. I know it’s Tuesday, but tacos are going to have to wait, or be a lot later._

 **_Ella:_ ** _Lucifer says he’s absolutely not having an eiffel tower with you and Charlotte._

 **_Dan:_ ** _...What is it with them and threesomes?_

 **_Ella:_ ** _Oh, why, have you had one? They’re fun. Not the tower part, I haven’t done that. Wait, is Charlotte special too?_

 **_Dan:_ ** _...You know that group therapy thing you suggested? That might be a good idea after all._

 **_Dan:_ ** _...And no, I haven’t had one. Devil’s or otherwise._

 **_Ella:_ ** _Mine was with two other chicks. Lucifer just said he’s proud of me._

 **_Dan:_ ** _I’m not sure I needed to know that._

 **_Ella:_ ** _Aw, buddy, are you going all prude on me?_

 **_Dan:_ ** _No, but you’re my friend, and now I’ve got images in my head._

 **_Ella:_ ** _Ha! Those days are waaaaaaay behind me anyway. Where are you going?_

 **_Dan:_ ** _Charlotte hasn’t said exactly, but somewhere not at work to do some note comparing until Amenadiel is free._

 **_Ella:_ ** _Alrighty. We’re almost there. When are you going to tell Chloe?_

 **_Dan:_ ** _Not right now, maybe the group therapy idea would be a good time. You have to promise not to say anything until we all discuss it._

 **_Ella:_ ** _You got it, but the clock is ticking, mi amigo._

* * *

The light had faded to early evening by the time Charlotte led Dan to Amenadiel, deep into the park.

Frankly, Dan would have preferred somewhere more secure. 

On the bright side, he hadn’t seen Pierce in forever. No one seemed to have seen hide or hair of him in the last few days. 

Dan nodded to Amenadiel, who glared back. “Did you have to bring him?”

Charlotte cut her eyes at him. “What’s wrong with Dan?”

“He’s _interfering._ ”

Dan started to retort, but Charlotte held up a hand to Amenadiel. “Hang on, I know it’s not what we talked about, but God’s plan to have Lucifer and Chloe together is pretty convoluted with the fact that Dan even exists.”

“God’s plan to **_what?_** _”_

Amenadiel signed. “We discussed the fact that Chloe is a miracle.”

“Yeah, and I married her. If Lucifer had shown up three years before he did originally, this would be a vastly different conversation.”

“Father has a plan-”

“Yeah, well, it’s a pretty shitty plan, I’m sorry. If _God_ is responsible for our divorce, I’m going to have some words with Him."

The fallen angel looked about ready to pass out on the spot. “It’s not like you would have a better idea-”

“Look, I don’t have a _plan_. I’m just along for the ride. It’s not like he will ever really love me back-”

_Oops._

Charlotte touched his arm, almost tenderly when he had no right to it. “This is why it should be Chloe. _She’s_ the one who isn’t affected by him.”

“Yes, you’ve said she’s a miracle or whatever.”

She looked at Amenadiel. “Did you fully explain it?” Back to Dan, she said, “did he tell you why it’s important? That Lucifer can be hurt around her? She’s not just not affected by his power, she makes him _vulnerable._ ”

Amenadiel crossed his arms, “I didn’t have time to explain all of it before they kicked me out.”

“Didn’t you think it was important?”

“I _thought_ I’d gotten the message across that Father won’t approve of...Dan and Lucifer as a match.”

Dan wanted to scream. “You don’t know him _at all,_ do you? No, you did say that, but it wasn’t so much a _message_ as it was a reason to keep me there.” _and ‘shag’ me senseless. Not that I'm complaining._

Even Charlotte looked at Amenadiel askance. “I have to agree with Dan here. That was a terrible idea. If you hadn’t said anything, he might have just been another of Lucifer’s discarded lovers.”

Okay, _now_ he was getting pissed. “No, I wouldn’t have. Look, Lucifer doesn’t like being manipulated by _anyone_. And I asked _him_ out. Come to think of it, if this is so urgent, why didn’t you keep her from getting engaged to fucking _Cain_?”

Amenadiel finally looked embarrassed. But it was Amenadiel, so it was a marginal reaction at best. “Ah. So you know who he is.”

Charlotte looked worried. “So, about that. We didn’t know he was the sinnerman until recently. We don’t know where he is, or how to arrest him. Obviously, he can’t go through the regular system.”

“Fine. The immortality thing right? Can’t Lucifer just, I don’t know, do one of his favors and just shuffle him around once he’s in prison - put him under a new name every five years to keep people from noticing, until you do know how to deal with him?”

“What if he gets stabbed and dies in prison? Then comes back to life?”

“Have you ever seen a prison? Weird shit happens. They’d probably brush it off as him not actually dying. And not much worse than stabbing is going to happen to him there - he won’t get beheaded or anything. I assume we aren’t talking about him waking up and floating in air or lighting shining from his ears when he comes back to life or something else equally stupid.”

Amenadiel snorted. “No, no, he just wakes up again. Usually fairly quickly.”

Dan threw his hands up in the air. “Great, we have a plan. Now what? Get Maze back here to find his stupid ass?”

“Where’s Maze?”

He knew his voice was rising, but he decided he didn’t care. “She’s out hunting down my stupid fairy who gave me stupid wings.”

“Oh. Is she… close by?”

“Texas, possibly out in the Gulf of Mexico now, so _no_.”

"Wow. Did Mazikeen find her?"

"Actually, yes. Then the fae fucked Maze sideways and ran away again."

Amenadiel pinched his nose. " _Fairies._ "

Charlotte raised an eyebrow. "Personal experience?"

 _"No._ Lucifer is quite familiar, however. If not with her, then plenty of others."

Dan blew out a long breath. It was actually good to _talk_ to people about this. Even with _him_ being the odd one out for a change. He still wasn't entirely sure how the body-swapping thing worked with Lucifer's _mother_ gone, but he stored it for later. "Okay, so. We find Pierce-"

The bushes that lined the edge of the park clearing - nowhere near the walking path - rustled. 

Dan, with years of cop-trained reflexes - and the paranoia that goes with it - turned towards the sound, hand on the gun on his hip.

Out of the corner of his vision, he saw Cain. He saw a gun rising, and if it weren’t too stupid a cliche he would think about movements in slow motion, the blood rushing in his ears and the adrinaline making his own reflexes quick as lightening - but it is so he doesnt. Instead he lets his instincts take over. They have gotten him out of (and, to be fair, _in_ ) a lot of trouble, and frankly, he had no other option at this point. He heard a shot ring out, saw the flash of the muzzle of the barrel and then his view was covered in mustard-yellow feathers that closed around them in a flash of movement, one over the other like an envelope. He had no idea if the first bullet hit or not, but his face was suddenly full of blonde hair and a slight but familiar body pressed against his own.

He could measure the time between his heartbeats. Two beats since the flash.

He had his arms tight around Charlotte. They were both on the ground, his knees in the dirt and something - some _one_ (please not her, please not her, please not her…) - was bleeding.

Three.

It was the inside of his wing- the bullet had gone through and past his ear, a fraction of a second after the sound of the shot. 

Four.

Well, what the fuck good were-

The second bullet impacted the wing bone joint and lodged there, inches from his face. It hit hard enough to nearly buckle him to the ground in burning agony, hard enough to throw the wing bone hard against his cheek before bouncing back.

 _Fuck_ it hurt. But at least it wasn't his head. Only after, he realized he had cried out, gasping. 

Six.

His wings had blocked out the light, but he became aware of both cursing and increasingly present and stinging pain. The pulse pounding in his head slowed slightly.

Seven.

Charlotte's voice was ragged in his ear, short of breath. She said something.

_"What?"_

"You're bleeding!"

He started to move, to move his wings out of the way, but some instinct stopped him- his gut or God told him to _stay the fuck down._ He hopes like fuck it’s his gut, because he doesn’t want any tips from the Big Guy. Right after, more shots split the air rapidly and like the crack of thunder, striking his wings like rocks screaming down from the sky. Some passed through and some didn't. He cursed and flinched, holding Charlotte impossibly tight. One of the shots found his forearm.

Eight.

_"Are you fucking kidding me?"_

Cain's voice sounded from the other side of his wings, muffled by the layer of muscle and bone between them, or maybe just an aftereffect of the sound of a booming gun shattering the air damaging his eardrums. It sounded like he was coming towards them. 

And he was reloading. " _Espinoza!?_ What fresh hell is this?"

Nine, ten.

Dan hissed in Charlotte's ear, "be ready to drop to the ground!"

She nodded.

Unlike Lucifer, Dan wasn't immortal.

He fanned his wings open and closed again, flashing behind his back. Cain was right there, shoving a bullet into the chamber. Dan shoved Charlotte down, drew his gun and stood up. 

And fired.

He hit Cain just below his right eye. He looks shocked, very briefly, and then there’s blood filling and overflowing his eye and the other one goes out of focus. Then he hits the ground, no sound escaping his chest, no dramatic last breath or gasp. Charlotte grunted, getting her legs out from under her where she lay. 

The weight of the wings had thrown his aim off, just enough to put his bullet in Cain's head rather than his chest, where he'd been trained to shoot.

Amenadiel was in front of him and to the side - the large man had charged Cain and taken a shot in the shoulder. It looked like he'd been thrown by the bullet out of the direct line of fire, but he had tried to put himself between Dan and Cain. The wound was most likely non-fatal, but he had been caught by surprise and had fallen to one knee and holding a bloody patch on his hoodie. But he was more upright than down, and it wasn't much blood.

The only reason he had Charlotte in front of him under the wing shelter was because she had thrown herself into harm's way, to save _him._ He didn't know if she saw Cain first, but she reacted faster than even he did, risking choosing him over life itself.

It had been a mad rush to save each other, and all of them were down or injured, but not dead.

Well, Cain seemed to be.

Dan had to hold his wings out, dripping blood, as they hurt too much to put away. The left one hung limp and he couldn't keep it from dragging on the ground. He kept his gun out, carefully taking slow steps to the body. He resisted the urge to shoot him again. "Amenadiel?"

 _Grunt_.

"How long does it take before he gets back up?"

"Not long, usually. Is he dead?"

 _Yuuuuup._ "For now. I think I messed his brain up pretty bad."

Dan suddenly got the appeal of helping him die. It was so hard to breathe right now. The leaden pull of the wings reminding him with every rise and fall of his chest that they were badly injured. He looked back for a quick check. The inside gold feathers were becoming streaked with vibrantly red leaking blood. The backs must look even worse, probably.

He started to help Charlotte up, but she was groaning and holding her upper abdomen.

She had blood all over her white shirt. "What?"

Dan looked down at his arm where the bullet had passed through, from him and into her. He came back to her, dropping back to his knees. He pulled her hand away gently to check the wound. He hissed - it _looked_ bad, but it wasn't as bad as it could have been. The blood flow seemed centered on a rib, where the bullet slowed by feathers and flesh had cracked it and skipped off again, taking a stripe of skin with it. She wasn't in mortal danger, but she was having trouble breathing from the pain.

He looked over at Amenadiel, "we need an ambulance-I need to get out of here before they get here." He spared a longer look at him too. "Hey, you look a lot healthier now; you were shot, right?"

"I feel better. Maybe it was just a graze."

 _Weird place for that_. He didn't say it though.

"That was amazing, Dan. Are you in pain?"

"Fuck. Yes. I'm in a lot of pain. But I'm going into shock, I think, because it should feel a lot worse than this. It can hurt more later, I need to get out of sight for when people come looking for the source of gunshots."

Amenadiel rushed over to hover uncertainly over Charlotte. "Crap. Is she...?"

Charlotte growled between shortened breaths, "I'll be okay, I think." 

On top of her torso wound, a bullet had bounced off the ground and scraped her skin in a hot line.

Dan had his good arm under her shoulders. "I'm sorry, Charlotte. I should have done better than this."

She smiled softly, "it's okay. I'll be fine. Thanks for being my angel."

"I'm not-" _fuck it_. "Anytime." He stroked her hair instead of kissing her, just happy she was alive.

He nodded to Amenadiel, "take my cuffs, I don't think I can do it right now. Once Cain is up, I need my bullet back - I'll need you to find it since I'm assuming it'll come back out of him or something. Shouldn't he be back up by now?"

Amenadiel got up and came over to check on him. "Yeah, I think he should. Where's Luci?"

 _Shit_.

"Not sure. Can you call him? I don't think I have the motor control to handle my phone."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings- gun violence/shooting death, injury, blood. Shooting scene is deliberately written to be tense. Major (minor?) character death of Cain.


	11. He's just resting.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Summary: Lucifer has feelings. Chloe has fewer feelings than she expected. A wild (drunk) Linda appears, gets Dan drunk too and makes comparisons that Dan thinks are unfair.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy V-Day! Or "The day before chocolate goes on sale for half price day" whichever you celebrate. Or both.
> 
> There are only 2 chapters left (this one and the next one), but fear not, this will be a series. 
> 
> Thanks for all the kudos and comments. They are life.

“Daniel!”

Lucifer cupped his face and kissed him fiercely. Rather than responding to the text with a typed response, he had just _shown up_ where they were. Dan tried to wrap his arms around Lucifer but the Devil moved first, holding Dan close to his body. He collapsed with a gasp, safe in Lucier’s arms.

Lucifer yelled something over his shoulder.

Right. His friends were there too. He thinks he made a noise of protest.

"You beautiful idiot. Hold on if you can. If not, I've still got you."

In the blink of an eye, he had gently deposited Dan in his master shower after scooping him up and _flying_ him to the penthouse. Dan tried to keep his grip but Lucifer slid through his grasp.

Amenadiel, as well as 'a doctor,' or 'the doctor'? _Does Lucifer know a time lord too?_ were on their way as well, he was told. At least that's what seems to have filtered into his brain. He can't seem to recall the trip to the Penthouse, just sudden awareness of hard, cold tile under the seat of his jeans as he got set down like a child.

His wings pressed back against the shower tiles, and the coolness soothed his throbbing wounds. He could feel his pulse painfully beating rapidly in every one of them. There were more than there should be. He looked down, finding the wound in his arm as well, where he’d wrapped them around Charlotte. The feathers must have at least slowed it down some since it didn't damage Charlotte too much. His fingers on that hand didn’t want to move. Briefly, confusion over how he had managed to use his gun swelled up, but then he decided it could be a question for future-Dan.

Dan tried to touch him again but neither of his arms worked correctly. Instead, he said, “you look angry.”

He did. Hellfire blazed in Lucifer's eyes, glowing red to white hot and consuming his pupils and irises as he focused on Dan and his injuries. “I should have dealt with this before something like this happened.” He ran his fingers through Dan's hair, making him hum and try to lean into it like a cat. But that pulled on his shoulder and hurt like fuck. "Ow."

He couldn't look away from his burning eyes. They were fierce and threatening vengeance for any who crossed him. Or hurt someone he cared about. He should probably be afraid, but Lucifer's anger was on his behalf, not at him. The fire warmed him, penetrating his soul from head to toes, almost feeling...purifying. Only Dan had shot someone with the intent to kill. Again. Just because Cain hadn't gotten up again doesn't mean he wouldn't - that someone was wrong about how long it takes. But he would have done it again if he'd had to. For Charlotte, for Lucifer, for anyone else under his protection. 

Dan watched too much of his own blood flow along the tile grooves from where he sat curled up in the shower. He was beginning to feel a bit lightheaded. Or maybe he had been and didn't notice. “How? Isn’t he just going to get up again?”

There was as long of a pause as Lucifer was willing to give it right now. “I have to double-check. If he's truly dead, I needn't bother to go back. If he isn't dead _dead_ yet...well, I can always drop in him in a deep hole somewhere in the desert later."

This information needed follow up questions. Unfortunately, all his concentration was focused on immediate concerns, and for some reason, the back of his brain was quoting _Monty Python_ and a scene with a bunch of bodies in a wagon. _Thanks, brain. Annnnnd, now it's the parrot sketch. Perfect._ Dan shook his head to clear it. “Well. Fuck.” The part of his brain that still worked prompted him, “Hey, you have to go back there and make sure Charlotte’s okay.”

He waved it off. “She will be fine, it was just a scratch.”

“I mean, I’m not there, Amenadiel is on his way _here_ \- they’re going to think Charlotte was the one who shot him. She can’t go to jail for me!”

Lucifer grumbled. "Self-defense wasn't it?" Seeking distraction, he stepped away for a second, doing things, slapping some control on the wall of the bathroom, then came back with a small pillow to put behind Dan's head. The tile under his butt began to feel warm while the walls stayed nice and cool against his feathers and arms. Because of course Lucifer had heated tiles in his bathroom. 

_There's a body, Charlotte is alone there with it._ Even if she wasn't arrested, she might be panicking. Dan got his attention, “Hey, go, I’ll be fine for a few minutes.” He hoped. “Your shirt has spots.”

"I still don't want to leave you by yourself. You look ghastly but you aren't losing as much blood as it might feel like. Wings add considerable flesh and bone to your overall structure, so you have more blood than you did before." Lucifer took a good, long look over a folded up Dan on his shower floor. "If Cain _isn't_ already permanently dead, I'd find a Hell blade and kill him myself."

Lines of fire and lightning seemed to visibly crackle around Lucifer’s head like a broken red halo. He added, “they don’t need me. You do.”

The sight of Lucifer asserting his protectiveness made the air in his lungs catch. Was red creeping up Lucifer’s neck? Didn't he say this wasn't supposed to happen though, his Devil face?

Dan shook his head and tried to put urgency into his voice, “Charlotte does. But turn off your face or whatever, it might alarm them.”

It stopped immediately, but Lucifer looked at him like he’d seen a ghost. “My face? It changed?”

“Yeah, you can’t _tell?”_

“I haven’t had-” he looked in a mirror quickly, unnecessarily straightening his perfect hair. His eyes had returned to normal as he found the main bathroom mirror, and seeing none of what Dan saw. “You aren’t scared?”

The residual power wash from it cleared his head some. “It’s kinda sexy, actually."

Lucifer came back to kiss him one more time. “Thank you, incidentally."

He was just enough out of it to ask. "For what?"

"For protecting her. Mrs. Richards may not be my mum any longer, but it's...nice to be reminded of her. I'll be back soon. Dr. Linda should be on her way up right now."

"Wait, you called your _therapist_ to help?"

"She's a doctor! Fear not, you'll be in capable hands." Lucifer looked down and grumbled. “Better do a full change first.” He stripped out of his shirt and jacket, taking them with him to the closet. Dan leaned to try to follow his movement and winced when he came up against the shower glass partition. 

* * *

Chloe arrived on the scene of the shooting only a little while after the ambulance did. She pulled up, wiped her face with both her hands, rubbing her eyes, and got out of the car.

The body was covered with a sheet, but the outline of it. _Him._ Was well known to her. 

The sheet was a little different from what she had been used to.

She felt...

Like she should feel _more_. 

A man she'd said 'yes' to was cold and dead. Shot in self-defense. Had to be the truth. If it were anyone else there, waiting for the paramedics and for the other unit that takes bodies away, she would have had her doubts.

But it was Charlotte Richards. Lucifer's step-mom. The woman who had just begun to turn her life around, had begun to really start caring about the world. There were a lot of people higher on the list of suspects if Marcus had just been found that way, alone.

Charlotte had stayed. Called 911 right after it happened. Murderers sometimes do exactly that, but as far as she knew, there's no motive for it here. They were all supposed to be on the same side these days.

She felt grateful Ella hadn't arrived yet. They might not even need her for something this straight-forward. Not every death counted as a crime, even shooting deaths.

She swallowed the fear, the odd sense of guilt clawing at her neck.

Marcus hadn't seemed that broken up over the...dis-engagement. He accepted the ring back, his eyes sad but unreflective. He hoped they could work something out with her, but that he needed time and space. Things people said in movies during a breakup. If he was surprised, he didn’t show it. But he didn’t beg either.

Had he _wanted_ this somehow?

No, that was ridiculous. 

She never even found out his mother's name. Weird.

She focused on the scene in front of her. The one she wasn't officially even at. The ground had been badly scuffed up, but it was hard to see in the dark. Like a ton of foot-traffic had been through here recently. Or maybe some kind of fight? But it was only Charlotte and Marcus. If they had fought physically...well, it wouldn't be him on the ground, and it wouldn't have caused this much damage to the grass, as the fight would have been very short.

Charlotte had her arms crossed over her chest, hugging herself, her hair down and framing her tear-streaked face. She had been found alone but awake and aware, near the body on the ground. Now she sat up next to the ambulance, being treated by an EMT who stepped away when Chloe came up.

Charlotte wasn't cuffed. Chloe let out a small breath.

She should be a little mad either way- Charlotte is a lawyer and should know not to mess up a potential crime scene. The woman looked pretty rattled; she might be suffering from some triggered PTSD after her attack not all that long ago. Even strong people broke down if you applied pressure at the right points.

_What if it had been me? Could I have shot him?_

Lucifer was across from Charlotte, his back to Chloe, busy chatting everyone up. His body posture was tense. Chloe didn't know who called him, but she was glad to see him. 

He turned and smiled when he saw her, but it didn’t reach his eyes. He looked a little pale, even in the dim light. His usual ‘Detective’ was stilted, spit out like so much sand in his teeth. He must have realized he sounded rough, as he added, "I thought you might come out. I'm sorry you have to see this. Should you be here?"

Chloe led him away from the ambulance for a minute with a quick look at Charlotte, who seemed okay for the time being. After a few steps with Lucifer in tow, she said, "probably not. But I won't tell if you won't. Besides, I think I had to see it myself. It’s so...weird. He was like one of those people you never thought anything could touch or hurt.”

He took a long breath, unusually tense. “You aren’t angry with-Charlotte?”

“I don’t know. That might come later. I’m still feeling kinda numb. Like that thing under the sheet isn’t really my ex-fiancee.” Which was thankfully out of sight where they were.

She was trying to sort how differently she’d feel if it had been just a week ago rather than now. “He was your boss too, are _you_ okay?"

Lucifer looked surprised, smiling a little more, if still highly distracted. "I'm perfectly fine. He wasn't my favorite person in the world."

"Mm." She didn't look in the direction of the body. 

_Maybe I need a vacation._

_We never picked a place for a honeymoon. But he said he’d take me anywhere I wanted to go._

She wondered if Rome was nice this time of year.

She took a deep breath and walked back to Charlotte. Lucifer followed. “Can you talk about it? What happened? Are you okay?”

She nodded back, looking quickly between them, “I’m fine. I will be fine.” She opened her mouth and closed it again, shutting down. 

“Okay. I'm glad you're okay. You did good calling it in, alright? You aren't under arrest, as I understand it, You shot him? Marc-Lieutenant Pierce?”

Charlotte pushed her hair back. “I get it, it looks bad. The officers here questioned me already but they haven't said anything else. I don't...think I'm in trouble? He shot me - at me from those bushes there,” she pointed, “I carry a gun with me now, after the attempt on my life a while back…”

Chloe nodded again.

Her eyes cast down again, looking at her legs, one of which had a bandage wrapped around, above the ankle. “And returned fire. He missed - well, he missed anything important, and I didn’t miss him.”

She felt her lips stretch in a tight line. The other cops should be handling this part. There's no need for her to ask, but she does, “do you have any idea why?”

“Yes, I do. I have been gathering evidence against him, revealing him as the Sinnerman. I’m sorry, Chloe. I had been making a case-”

 _“What?”_ Ice speared her lungs. “You aren’t serious-”

“Yes, completely. And obviously, he found out and tried to stop me from turning him in.”

"Alright. If that's true, then I'm just sorry we didn't arrest him before this happened. It looks like I have a lot of work to do this week."

Lucifer waited, pensive. He’d never been quite this quiet before, for this long. 

“Lucifer, were you here or nearby?”

“I was...nearby.”

“That’s nice of you to come here for me, but do you have somewhere to be?”

“Why do you say that?”

She joked, “you look like you’re about to actually jump off the edge of the park and fly somewhere.”

He looked startled. “I’m informed it can wait a short while, but I really must be off soon.” He shifted slightly from foot to foot as if he were Trixie and waiting to use the bathroom. 

She assessed herself. She knew who it was before she came to the scene, she had been told not to come, actually, because of her connection, her connections, to the deceased. But Charlotte was hurt, and the circumstances - 

She shook her head, swallowing thickly. "Seems pretty cut and dry, doesn't it?"

Charlotte rubbed her nose. "If you don't need me to stay for questioning, I'd like to let these guys take me to the hospital."

"I'm not in charge of that, but I'm going to bet they won't need anything. I don't know who will pick this up - it won't be Dan either since we're so close to it. If there is an investigation, it will probably be handled by another precinct."

"Okay. I can wait here a bit. The painkillers they gave me are pretty good."

Chloe smiled a little. "Lucifer, you can go with her if you need to. I'm not on this case."

"Thank you. I have other things to attend to though, and Charlotte will be fine."

She wanted to make a joke about Dan, but It might come out bitter. Her heart wasn't there. 

It wasn't on the ground under that sheet either. 

She breathed out, hard. "I sort of feel like a lousy cop, not seeing the connections. But he fooled a lot of people. Now I don't know if he loved me, or if I was some puzzle piece for him."

He hesitated, but then said sincerely, "I believe he did, for what it's worth."

"Thank you, for that." She smiled at him, a little like she used to. At the same time, it was clear he had somewhere else to be. "You can go. I should go too."

Charlotte unfolded her arms, rubbing one with the other hand. "So you don't think there will be an investigation into his death?"

"I don't see why. I'd like to look at your files at some point, and I'm sure some people above my pay grade will want to find people connected to him, but it looks to me like it's what you said."

She nodded, obviously trying not to look relieved.

"I don't think you'll lose much time off work, if that's what you're worried about."

In the course of speaking to Charlotte, she'd turned her head away from Lucifer. When she looked for him again, he was _gone_. 

Charlotte, who had been facing him hadn't even reacted to his departure. 

She rolled her eyes to herself. With a little forced optimism, she said, "tribe night again soon, when you're better, yeah?"

She got a smile and a nod in return, looking more like the strong woman she had grown to enjoy having around. Looking down again, Charlotte inhaled sharply.

Chloe followed her gaze, to see a sapphire blue feather, crushed up in the dirt. It was big, but not really weird. Charlotte’s reaction must have been a coincidence, a response to something else. Seeing no need to do otherwise, Chloe left it there and went back to her car to head home.

* * *

The elevator opened. "This better be good. I was actually having a _date-"_

"In here!" Dan yelled.

Linda poked her head inside the bathroom door, blonde hair hanging down and styled for a night out. She swore and came in, stepping around the blood and stray feathers.

She pulled his head up by the chin, looking into his eyes, maybe checking for dilation. Tilting his head hurt, but he didn't object. She looked him over quickly, nodded too many times and stepped out again. 

He saw her pacing back and forth, coming in and out of sight of the bathroom door, heels clicking loudly as she went, and muttering darkly. 

She had angrily growled, "not that kind of doctor!" At least twice now. She apparently had been drinking just downstairs, which was...sort of lucky. She also couldn't do a whole lot for him anyway.

She had calmed down enough to complain about _Celestials_ in general, and not at all under her breath. She got up again, stalking away in her black dancing heels and vanishing from sight again. 

There was a stumble, a curse and the sound of a drunk woman violently kicking her shoes off across the penthouse.

She came back, padding over to him in black stockings and holding a bottle of whiskey by the neck in a death grip. "I swear to your Dad-"

Dan jumped. " _My_ dad?"

She growled and pointed up at the ceiling.

"What the fuck did Lucifer say? I'm _not_ an angel."

"You know? Never mind. Here." She thrust the bottle at him, butt end first and too close to his face. 

He flinched. "What do you want me to do with this?"

"Drink it. It's what Lucifer does. It'll probably help with the pain. You look awful, by the way. Do you know where he keeps his first aid supplies?"

“No idea. Here in the bathroom, probably?”

Dan uncapped the whiskey and took a long swallow anyway. It burned smoothly going down and actually did help a bit. he had a flash vision of a cartoon character drinking something and it pouring back out of the holes in their body. 

_The stuff I watched as a kid was pretty fucked up on occasion._

The wounds in his wings had stopped bleeding on their own, he thought, but the wings themselves were an absolute _mess._ He had five burning points of pain scattered along the left wing - the one that had been covering the right where they tented together over him and Charlotte. There was one big point on the right wing that pain had burned in down to the bone and made it hard to think.

Linda had opened cabinet doors, tucking a box - presumably, the mentioned first aid kit - under her elbow and set a few other things on a vanity.

She had found a pair of purple nitrile gloves, probably from the sex supplies. She snapped them on and checked his wounds, carefully delicate even with the unfocused look behind her glasses. She even looked at the injuries in his wings without flinching.

How often had she done this?

Linda opened a bottle of disinfectant in and soaked a single cotton ball with it. She looked down at him as if she suddenly realized her supplies were inadequate, despite already having seen him and poking him. She groaned and went away again to find something else. 

Amenadiel appeared at the door, and Dan felt gratitude wash over him. It didn’t seem like it had been long enough, though. Linda had already been close, but Amenadiel should have been way the fuck out by the park. 

Everything felt shallow. “Hey.”

The oldest angel looked him over sternly. “Where’s Lucifer?”

“Went back. Charlotte.”

Linda returned, shoving past Amenadiel and holding a towel that she started running water over in a sink. “You’re all idiots.”

She might be more than a little drunk.

Dan tried to ignore the alarm on Amenadiel’s face. “Yup.”

“Did Lucifer try to heal him?”

"I didn't see him, he just sent me this string of emojis that I assume refers to Daniel.” She turned off the tap and picked a part of his wing to rinse hot water over by squeezing out the towel. Fresh blood swirled down the drain. At least she didn't turn on the shower itself. He'd prefer to get out of his clothes before that happened.

Did wet feathers always smell like this? "It's just 'Dan.'"

Amenadiel stopped Linda with a gentle touch to her arm. “Hey, let me try something.”

She looked up at him, and something passing between them that Dan couldn’t quite pin down a name for. Then it clicked. “You guys dating?”

At the same time, they both said, “no.”

Linda's denial was a lot more dramatic.

It wasn’t very convincing. Dan took another long swig of the booze when he remembered he still had the bottle. He wiped his face with his other hand and found drying blood on it.

She yanked the gloves off and threw them in the trash. “What do you want to try?”

“I got my wings back, Linda. I don’t know what it means yet. But, our feathers have healing properties.”

She moved out of the way but looked curious. “I’ve never seen your wings, only Lucifer's.”

He took a breath and soft grey feathered wings spread slowly, but not to their full span. He reached back and plucked a single feather, with barely a wince. “I don’t know if it’ll work, but it might.”

Dan tried not to stare. "Wow."

Amenadiel ignored him, holding out the feather gently. It glowed faintly.

There is a _thing_ , isn’t there? “Uh, go ahead and try please.”

A little line of tension left Amenadiels brow, and he stooped to lightly place a feather on the closest wound. 

“What’s going to - oh!”

Heat that started off just warm and turned searing, stabbing through the area. Light flashed as the feather vanished and left behind lightly scarred flesh. “Holy shit!”

Linda started laughing. He wasn’t really sure why she did, but it made him giggle too. He hoped he wasn’t delirious.

Still, Amenadiel frowned at it. 

“What’s the problem?”

“It should heal completely, it would if you were an angel. How does it feel?”

“It itches like all fuck. Like, if they all do this, you’re gonna have to put a Cone of Shame on me to keep me from attacking them with my nails. Or sandpaper."

Linda nearly fell over laughing and gasping.

Amenadiel groaned. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“The movie _Up_. That was years ago, dude, we need to have a Pixar marathon.”

Linda pointed at him with an alarmingly wavering finger. “Oh my God. You’re _Kevin!”_

“I’m fucking - _NO._ ”

Linda threw both hands in the air, cackling with glee. “You're her colors and everything! _I MUST FIND THE BIRD!_ ”

Amenadiel looked at them like they had literally lost their minds.

Which was entirely fair, honestly. He groaned, “can you just-whatever you were doing and finishing fixing me, please?”

“I’d like to wait for Lucifer to come back and try one of his. I don’t like leaving behind scars on your wings if I can avoid it, especially since you're already looking better now."

Dan decided he wasn’t getting drunk fast enough and took another drink. Looks like his arms are definitely working again at least and he didn't have the urge to throw up. Linda was holding her stomach from laughing so hard, and it made him grin. 

He was absolutely _not_ an eight-foot-high flightless ridiculous-looking mother bird, however. 

"Hey, Amenadiel, go over to Chloe's and get her Pixar collection. I have some for Trixie at my place, but she has _Up_ and I don't."

"You want me to break into her house to steal movies?"

"Nah, just borrow 'em. I'll give them back. If you aren't gonna keep healing me, the least you can do is provide entertainment."

"Lucifer has DVDs here."

"Fine. Go look for the not-porn section of his collection and let me know what you find."

Amenadiel _glowered_ , "if she's home, I'm raiding yours instead," then took off for Chloe's apartment.

* * *

Lucifer returned, finding his brother warily watching over the good doctor and his lover who were both laughing and pointing at each other. Dan was moving less, since he was still hurt, but it was good to see him in higher spirits.

 _Literally and figuratively_ , he thought as he spotted one of his bottles of whiskey.

Linda sat just outside the shower, trading sips with Daniel, who spotted him through the shower glass and smiled. It was good to see him relaxed and distracted. He himself had never been shot in the wings, but it looked miserable. Daniel's courage throwing them in the way of shots was commendable, if stupid on his own part.

He was going to need a significant amount of wing grooming.

Lucifer thinks he might actually be looking forward to it. Daniel sent him a steady low-level hum of appreciation and fondness, probably unaware of doing so in his current state. Lucifer could feel the hiding pain under it all too, and it took his breath away, how much mortals could endure for those they loved.

He was caught and stopped to examine the prayer string more closely. Daniel loved Charlotte, but in a way Lucifer never really thought about. He had a flash of jealousy, then squashed it. Dan could have sex with - no, that wasn't it. He loved her the way Lucifer loved Chloe - distant but real and warm and satisfying. He had thought what he had with the Detective was _real._ Until he put it away. Maybe it was still there, just not romantically. 

He'd only known brotherly love, then carnal desires that at first he mistook for love but ended up enjoying deeply all the same. And now, there was love with...friends. and Dan felt it for Charlotte and even Amenadiel to a degree. But also something more, directed at him. Drunkenly, to be sure, but very real. 

He smiled back at Daniel, taking a step in, and immediately got distracted by his brother.

For some reason, Amenadiel was holding a few colorful DVD cases and his bathroom television had on something garishly bright and animated. Thank Dad there wasn't any singing. 

“What on _earth_?”

Amenadiel put the cases on the counter next to a sink. “Linda showed up this way, and Dan joined her. They’ve been arguing over these movies?”

Lucifer looked at the cover of the top one and flinched. “How do I even own those?”

“You don’t, I got them from Chloe’s house.”

He did a neck-wrenching double take. Amenadiel couldn’t have gotten here, left, made it to Chloe’s, broken in, stolen- “Bloody hell, did you get your time power back?”

“Even better! I got my wings back Luci! I actually haven’t tried my angelic power yet.”

Linda chortled, “that’s not his _only_ magic power if you know what I mean.”

Amenadiel rolled his eyes.

Lucifer actually looked affronted. He snorted. “Regardless, how is Daniel?”

“‘M right here, honey.”

“Of course you are.”

Amenadiel coughed. “I was able to heal one of his wounds with a feather, but it wasn’t perfect.” He gestured to the area, and Lucifer found the scar tissue easily. “I waited on the other injuries to see if you have the same effect on him."

“Experimenting on my lover, are you?”

He got a groan from his brother. “Can you just-”

“Help your ex out, would you?"

Amenadiel offered his hands and Linda smiled up at him as she took them, getting tugged up to her feet. He supported her with an arm around her shoulders. For a second he looked at her again, then shook his head. "Come along, doctor."

"Of course, _doctor."_

Dan looked at them, amused, his mostly unfocused gaze leaving them and locking onto Lucifer as he came closer.

Lucifer spread open his wings, unfurling from his back elegantly, if not fully, and reached to pluck one of his own feathers. 

Dan launched himself toward him with surprisingly fast reflexes and grabbed on with both arms. 

There was some indignant muttering about (more) ruined suits, but he hugged back anyway. “I suppose I don’t have to remove the feathers to use them…”

Amenadiel agreed, “I’ve seen that done in heaven, but I haven't tried it myself. I did have it done to me, after a bad scuffle - I didn't realize-"

“Right, _out_ , or prepare to get uncomfortable.”

Daniel pulled his head back and looked up at him. “You’re so pretty.”

Linda cackled behind them. "Bird."

“Thank you, darling. I don’t know if this will hurt or not. So-”

“Just do the thing.”

There were sounds of Amenadiel trying to herd Linda out of the bathroom. “This might hurt your eyes, come on.”

“Aw. But he found the bird!”

There was a great sighing by a restored angel, followed by two pairs of retreating footsteps.

* * *

Dan looked up into Lucifer’s eyes. “Okay.”

“I do care for you, you know.”

“Hm?”

“Your prayers get interesting when you’re drunk.”

Dan froze. “Oh fuck.”

"Indeed." Lucifer wrapped his wings tightly around Dan and his battered wings, cocooning them both fully. Dan started to ask if something was supposed to happen, then Lucifer himself started glowing.

Heaven’s light, and blue and red Hellfire mixed and swirled, settling down into his body and screaming through all of his nerves in frissons of pleasure and pain in a crashing wave. Dan lost track of himself, where his body began and ended, wrapped up tightly in Lucifer's arms.

Heat swam through him, flying through him and back out of his pores, sliding over his skin and taking every hurt away with it as it fell away again. 

The sound of at least two crumpled bullets hit the floor, pinging off the ceramic tile one after the other. The rest had passed through the shield of feathers, but at least it prevented Cain from getting more body shots, deflecting the path of the bullets when not stopped completely. 

When it was done, all the pain was gone, including the lingering muscle soreness. He felt _fantastic._ When his vision stopped swimming, he made out that Lucifer was already folding up his wings again. 

Dan grabbed for the nearest top ridge, desperately. “Can you leave them out, please?” 

Lucifer hesitated. “Why?”

Dan felt his lip curl up at the corner. Even the drunkenness had been removed, but he felt lingering playfulness. “Cause I wanna do you with them out.”

"Oh, so you aren’t feeling… extra worshipful?”

“Do you wanna ask me the thing?”

“Do you want me to?”

Dan kissed him. “I’ll say the same thing. You’re hot as fuck, you take care of me, and I want to express my gratitude.”

Lucifer grinned. “Well, alright then. We better kick out the company first." He helped Dan up, scoping under his shoulders and pulling him to his feet. “We also need to get you sorted out, make sure you’re feeling good enough.”

Dan kissed him again. “I feel awesome.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I swear to Dad, Mum, and by everything Unholy, I did not make the 'Up/Kevin' connection until Drunk!Linda showed up and did it for me.


	12. I'm not gonna cook him for you

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lucifer talks to Ella and also to his therapist. Dan talks to Maze, Puck, and others. The boys have more to sort out than I anticipated. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Updated note: I don't want to do 'not a chapter' but there may not be an update tomorrow - lots of 'life' stuff going on this week and I haven't had time to really write. *  
> \---  
> Trigger warning - mpreg discussions. Not sure if it needs a TW but better safe than sorry. 
> 
> Per Canon - Linda is pregnant but doesn't know it yet. Her drinking does not harm Charlie, and she gives up alcohol soon anyway. They're still gonna name him Charlie, because Mum.
> 
> Per my Muse - Hey, you know how I have 'not-OT3' tagged? that tag is *probably* going away. Just not in this fic - this one is still Doucifer only.

Linda stumbled back around the corner. "What just happened? Oh, wow."

Dan and Lucifer had their arms around each other. Dan looked significantly better from mere moments before, his color returned, and the blood on their clothes was gone. Plus, the passionate kiss was hot too.

Amenadiel followed and looked too, rolled his eyes and tugged Linda away. "Let's go back downstairs; I'll get your next drink."

"Hmm. My date is probably gone anyway. See you tomorrow at your appointment, Lucifer." 

She got a grumble in her general direction.

“Bring Dan if you want to.”

The muttered reply was lost against Dan’s neck. 

She got dragged to the elevator. When it finally came and left, Lucifer pulled away and Dan looked up into soft brown eyes. He felt so completely safe and wanted. 

“Luce…I-”

And promptly passed out. 

* * *

Embarrassingly, Dan woke up well after the sun was up. Alone. He sprawled, blinking up at the dark ceiling, unsure of where he was.

He panicked, sitting bolt upright and panting until he calmed down enough to look around. He spotted and dove for his phone on the now-familiar nightstand. It lay face down, plugged in and charging, with a bright yellow sticky note on top of it. Next to it was a bottle of water he didn't bother to analyze the name-brand of. Dan plucked up the note first.

_I called out ‘debilitated’ on your behalf. Pudding and leftovers in the fridge. Coffee on the counter. I'll be back later, not sure when. Make yourself at home._

It had been signed with a looping scrawl he assumed to be Lucifer's signature, with what _might_ have been a heart over the 'i.' If you squinted. He decided not to overthink it, for now.

He felt (unreasonably, but still) vaguely betrayed by the fact that he woke up alone. He had had good dreams, though, ones that were coming back to him as the confusion brought on by waking suddenly dissipated. 

Feathers and wings and _flying._ Now that he had a reference, his flying dreams were so much better. He used to think it would be like swimming, or at least that was the form those dreams took when he was younger. 

Checking his phone display, he found messages from Charlotte, Ella, Chloe, Trixie, and a generic ‘get well’ from a coworker, whose name wasn't displayed with the number. _Oh good._ Tomorrow, he would have to figure out who the fuck it was so he can acknowledge them without looking too much like an asshole.

Either Lucifer felt the sticky note was sufficient, or he really was busy doing stuff, _or_ he couldn’t be bothered to text. Every single option seemed equally likely. Dan sighed and pulled the sheets up to his chest.

He blinked and lifted them again, looking under them and checking his state of undress. Yup. Naked. Waking up naked (and at first, afraid) in Lucifer's bed was - what, the second time he's done this now? This time he wasn’t sure how it happened. Dan rubbed his face with his hands, thinking about last night. They kissed. Or they were going to kiss again, and shit, if you’d told Dan’s younger self that he’d be daydreaming about - not just daydreaming, _remembering_ \- kissing a dude who even looked somewhat like Lucifer - well. Parts of his body were now waking up nicely. He reread the note and placed it back on the nightstand. Now able to pay more attention to his surroundings, a dark shape drew his eye.

His boxers were hanging, artfully, on the lamp by the bedside.

What the actual fuck? He reached out, grabbed for them and decided it wasn’t worth the effort just yet when something protested. He was still sluggish from the night before, drained of energy. The memory of light and _magic_ washing over him was the thing that turned his world over. Somehow that was more mentally traumatizing than the bullets ripping through the feathers and meat of his own wings. 

At least nothing hurt, physically. But shit, he was _tired_.

That was fucking weird too. He had been having a hard enough time re-balancing his center of gravity. Slowly healing was something he could deal with, something familiar and do-able, even if it meant days in recovery. It _should_ have meant days in recovery. He had a passing recollection of wondering what he was going to tell his boss (fuck, Cain, who isn’t there anymore) when Linda had been there and sort of tending to him with whiskey and conversation. He hadn't been able to furl the wings away then, and expected to spend several days or even weeks healing up, with no idea of how to explain not going to work. He could have gone with 'Trixies got the flu,' but Lucifer wasn't a fan of lying.

He wonders when he had started caring what Lucifer would think of misrepresenting his time off work. Lucifer lied to - _shit._ No, he hadn't. Dan is kind of sick. He’s definitely 'debilitated.' 

Mentally bracing himself, he checked the time and flicked to Trixie’s text first. His phone buzzed as he composed a reply to her, something vague and unalarming. There was no need to mention he got shot, now that he was healed up. 

The buzz was an incoming text, an unknown number and he almost just ignored it as spam. The wording, however, caught his immediate attention, so he flicked the message window to the front.

 **_(Unknown):_ ** _Hello, Wood for Sheep. Did you like my gift?_

 **_Dan:_ ** _Who is this?_

 **_(Unknown):_ ** _I'll give you a hint. Nah. I won't._

 **_Dan:_ ** _Puck? How did you get this number?_

 **_(Unknown):_ ** _I knew you were a smart boy when I saw you. I went through Maze's phone while she was passed out. That demon is not a heavy sleeper, FYI, she almost caught me. It took me a few tries to figure out which number was yours - ‘douche,’ so you should feel flattered by that. She has bizarre names for everyone in her contacts. Human technology. I love it._

He groaned and ignored most of that.

 **_Dan:_ ** _What was that about your gift?_

 **_(Unknown):_ ** _Don't be a Horndoggle._

 **_Dan:_ ** _You mean the wings? Is that a made-up word or a real thing?_

 **_(Unknown):_ ** _All words are made up. What do they look like?_

 **_Dan:_ ** _Jesus, you sound like Lucifer....hang on, how do you not know what they look like?_

 **_(Unknown):_ ** _C'mon. Help your sis out._

 **_Dan:_ ** _I’m really getting tired of the word games. You don’t look like my sisters._

 **_(Unknown):_ ** _More like a cousin. A lot removed. Probably._

 **_Dan:_ ** _Lucifer said I might be part-fairy. Amenadiel said I’m not… angelic._

 **_(Unknown):_ ** _So then, you know your boyfriend is the Devil?_

He decided not to argue the ‘boyfriend’ point.

 **_Dan:_ ** _Yeah. But I still don't know what you meant._

 **_(Unknown):_ ** _You barely batted an eye to my magic trick at the bar. It seemed like you knew already._

 **_Dan:_ ** _T_ o _be frank, I had only just found out Lucifer was who he said he was. Magic seemed to just be up there with angels and demons at that point._

 **_(Unknown):_ ** _Fine. You *are* of fae blood. You might even be a descendant of mine, but you don’t have the mixed-color eyes that I do. It's unsurprising but still disappointing you didn't know about your heritage. That often happens, especially with the dying of magic._

 **_Dan:_ ** _Dying? That sounds ominous._

 **_(Unknown):_ ** _Again, don't be dense. Even you have to have noticed the distinct lack of unicorns these days._

 **_Dan:_ ** _Sorry, I haven't been a virgin for a long time._

 **_(Unknown):_ ** _Dragons then. I still find earth fun. I blame Lucifer for that to some degree - the few times we worked together, well, I could drone on for quite a while._

 **_Dan:_ ** _How are we related? My mom?_

 **_(Unknown):_ ** _She didn't step out on your father - probably - if that's your concern. If you were a half-blood, you would have figured it out by now. Your mom (or even father) could have been *gifted* by a fae like I did to you, or one of your parents had the line already. It's recessive, of course. Your family may not be aware of it themselves, so I wouldn't bring it up unless you have reason to believe they may know something._

 **_Dan:_ ** _Well. I am the only one of my immediate family with blue eyes. What about my daughter?_

 **_(Unknown):_ ** _What does she look like?_

 **_Dan:_ ** _She looks like my mom. Dark hair and eyes. My ex-wife has a lighter complexion. We both have blue eyes._

 **_(Unknown):_ ** _Hard to say then. Has she come of age?_

 **_Dan:_ ** _Not yet. Can we just speak instead of typing?_

 **_(Unknown):_ ** _I want to hear about your wings. If that's acceptable, I'll speak to you._

He agreed, picking up when the call came through. "Hey."

Her voice sounded different. Maybe it was just a phone line thing, or maybe he didn’t remember it right. She sounded friendly, either way. "Hey, yourself. Is Lucifer with you?"

"No, I woke up alone. I- something happened, he healed me and I think I slept for twelve hours straight. But I haven’t checked the date yet, so it could have even been longer.”

"I didn't know when we met that you weren't aware of what you are; for that, I apologize."

" _Am_ I an angel?"

She responded excitedly and not answering the question, "they're feathered?"

"...Yeah. Piss-yellow front and blue on the back. I look like a fucking macaw."

"They sound beautiful. Would you be willing to send me a photo?"

He didn’t even want to admit out loud that he was beginning to like the colors himself, unable to immediately come up with a derogatory word for the blue hue. The thought of unfurling them to take said photo made him wilt just thinking about the required effort. "Not really, no."

"Perhaps another time."

He licked his lips, hesitating before asking, "are they going to go away?"

"It's complicated. If I tell you, it negates the pact. To quote Dr.Strange, _if I tell you, it won't happen_. Unless you've done it already."

"I haven't seen the new movies yet, so _spoilers_." 

"You're way past the spoiler warning window, my friend. You're gonna cry."

"I don't cry at movies," he lied. 

"Right. Come up with a question that I can answer."

Dan took a long drink of water from the bottle by the bed. He didn't make Detective by being stupid, taking the time to phrase it mentally. "Can you tell me what I shouldn't do with them, rather than what I should?"

"Better, not great." She sounded unfazed, "have you harmed anyone with them?"

"No. The opposite, actually. If that's what's required-"

She sighed in what might have been relief, or maybe exasperation. "No. Fae may be troublemakers, but we aren't evil. Well, not all of us. Luckily, that doesn't matter - I know the nature of the pact and how it must be fulfilled. If you have, you keep your gift and I'll tell you so. If you haven't, then I can't give you any hints."

He still hesitated, taking another long swallow and debating his options.

"You aren't a braggart. Good, you get a cookie. Lucky for you, I'm not a dark fae. Now _tell_ me."

That definitely sounded like a _thing_. "The wings, your gift, saved my life on accident. I didn't want them at first and I know just how much Lucifer hates his. I flew a few hundred feet when Lucifer shoved me off a cliff to try them out and...I saved someone, I think, and I probably saved my own life too - for a second time - doing it." He shuddered, resisting the urge to whip out his wings and visually examine them. Instead, he rubbed his shoulder with his free hand, remembering the impact of bullets tearing into and through his flesh. He felt the urge to add, "none of it was intentional. My wings knew what to do before I did, thank Whatever. Lucifer wouldn't have let me die after pushing me off the cliff, but I'd definitely be injured or worse if I didn't have them last week when I fell off a building. Charlotte, my...friend- I would have done it anyway, wings or no wings. I didn't know they could fold into a tent." 

"You've been busy, douche."

Dan laughed. The nickname got less acerbic the more often he heard it. "My life used to be far less interesting."

"So," and there was a smile in her voice, he thought, "You've fulfilled the requirements of my gift. That's good for both of us. I get to give another gift sometime; I don't know when, and now you can too."

 _Trixie. I want her to have it_. "Tell me how."

"Our magic is wild. You'll know when it presents itself as an opportunity. If you don't use your favor when it comes up, it might not happen again. Or it might. If the one to whom you give your gift doesn't fulfill the terms, then you both lose. And you can't tell them how, but you should at least know vaguely what they are when you grant it. If you gift it to a non-fae, the magic will present differently; it may only be a boon of great luck. If you gift it to an enemy, it will do the opposite."

"That is a weird-ass system."

"It's that or none. Well, natural magic. Lucifer can probably teach you minor spells too, but only because you have the blood for it. I like having my own magic, even if my gifts sometimes become curses. I wouldn't truly want Lucifer as an enemy, though he is wary of my kind, and rightfully so. Remember that when you give yours. It may not turn out the way you hope or want."

Something pinged his brain. “Lucifer grants favors…”

“Ha. That’s what he calls them, but they’re not _magic_ , and they’re not the same as ours. His gifts from his father are inherent, part of him. His abilities are supernatural - not the same thing. Crack open a D&D book sometime."

He sort of liked hearing ‘our magic.’ It made him want to find out more, if only for Trixie’s sake.

"Hey, is my...body different now? Other than the wings?"

"You may have a longer lifespan now, most likely a healthier one. You'll know in a few years if you begin to age more slowly. Whatever comes of the gift, do not take it for granted."

"How old are you, Puck?"

"I have lived for a very long time. Take care of your children. They really are our future."

"I only have the one."

"My mistake. I have many. I’m one of the first."

"Oh, should I start calling you Eve?"

"Oh, dear Fate, no. That name is taken. Do _you_ have another name?"

He joked, "Lucifer always calls me Daniel, but my parents named me Dan."

"Thank you, Daniel. You should look up the meanings behind that name."

"Trust me; I feel like I'm constantly in a den of lions."

"Yet you're safest when you are. Remember how the story goes? Bit like a briar patch, isn't it?"

He didn't know why he volunteered the information, but it just came out anyway, making him feel cold even as he did, "I've killed people."

"So have I. I'm also called Siren. Gorgon. I may be fae, but I'm no Tinkerbell. When humans were young, men were not always so nice to pretty young women. I learned to defend myself."

He shivered, having seen crime scenes and cases of plenty of pretty young women who would get no older. "I'm sorry."

"Daniel, have you ever hurt a woman?"

It wasn't Lucifer's power, but he felt the compulsion, the _pull_ , even over the phone. He could have resisted it, he thought, but he didn't. "Verbally. I...hurt my ex-wife. Never physically."

"Never do that again."

"I won't. I apologized, and she slugged me. I deserved it. We're friends now, and I hope we're raising our kid to be better than me."

She digested his words. "Good. Nice to know you can learn."

"She's special too. Not in the same-"

She _hissed,_ "that's not your secret to tell."

She was right. "I...sorry. Will you come back here?"

“I don’t actually enjoy tangling with angels and demons. I also don’t stay in one place long."

"What...what can I do? With this? How…"

She paused. "LA has festivals and fairs all the time, right? Go to one. Take your kid with you."

"What the hell does that mean?"

She laughed. "You aren't doing it right unless someone is cursing your name. Good luck, Daniel."

"Okay. Fine, but-"

"Be a polite fairy now. Say it back."

"Good luck?"

"With a little _conviction_. Please."

He found he meant it. "Good luck."

She hung up.

* * *

Lucifer glared at the draped sheet.

Despite everything, he was touched that Ella hadn't batted an eye over his own identity. So far. It hadn't been long and there was still plenty of time for delayed onset panic. His experience through the ages of people _believing_ him had vastly different results than those of the more recent reveals.

Likely, it was the cursed _angel_ wings. After all, angels are _good_ and _holy_ and all that nonsense, accordingly their 'good books.' The slang is such an unbelievable misnomer. The amount of raping and pillaging depicted in their texts alone - he could go on for ages.

If Ella sees his true face, she'll run for the hills. Daniel had been drunk off his arse when _he_ saw it and probably had forgotten all about it by now. Luckily, he can just kick that can further down the road with them both. Now that he knows he has it again, he can control it. 

Ella had her safety glasses on the top of her head and gloves on, but no clue why she was here. “What do you need, buddy? I’m pretty sure this case is solved. Not that it’s even a case, but it’s really crazy. I wouldn’t have thought in a million years that he’d do something like this.”

“Ah, well, yes. Daniel did a bang-up job, didn’t he? Literally.”

Ella stopped. “What? But Charlotte shot him?”

“He...has been feeling bad about her injuries."

"Luce. Was he there too?"

"If I tell you, will you get into trouble?"

"I mean, as long as you aren't telling me a crime was committed…"

Lucifer gazed at the body on the table, rueful. "Daniel killed him. He was protecting Charlotte, but he couldn't stay at the scene. There were _complications_. Had Charlotte been charged - well, I don't know exactly what we would do, but we would not leave her twisting in the wind."

Ella adjusted the glasses on her head. "Why are we here then?"

"I would appreciate it if you could make certain he is...dead."

She looked pointedly at the misshapen part of the head. "What aren't you telling me? And really, I mean, no offense. wouldn't you know?"

"The only place Pierce could be is in Hell. I have no desire to check."

"Well. I've seen some pretty gross injuries, even head injuries that look way worse than they turn out to be, but people with scrambled eggs for brains don't exactly recover from that much trauma. Are you expecting him to turn into a zombie? Cause I've seen enough horror movies to know how to kill zombies, and he'd already be dead, _again_. So, spill."

"Pierce has had many identities over history. He doesn't tend to stay dead."

Ella's mouth dropped open, "dude."

He cleared his throat. "I'd prefer not to get into it right now, Ms. Lopez."

"You're going to owe me free drinks at your club. Like forever."

"I can live with that." The enormity of the possible drink tab was not lost on him.

She pondered the situation, cocking her head and honestly trying to come up with...something. "O….kay. What would convince you that he's _dead_ dead?"

Lucifer eyed the form lying on the table. He had been in Hell long enough to have some ideas about it. "Perhaps run a nice, strong electric current through him? For a bit?"

She made a face. "I'm not gonna _cook_ him for you. I can absolutely promise you he has no brain activity. If you want, I can ask to have him cremated as soon as possible, assuming no one is gonna show up and claim him for burial?"

"No. His parents haven't been in the picture for a very long time, and he never was on good terms with his siblings. No one will be claiming him."

"That's...kinda sad."

"He brought it on himself. The devil isn't the only one with a reputation."

"Still. He's got no one? Dude, was he like, mind-controlling Chloe??"

As if anyone could mind-control her. Even magical creatures would have a hard time against her sheer will-power, miracle status notwithstanding. He fought back a laugh. "No. One thing I'm coming to understand is not only how responsible we are for our decisions, but that we truly are capable of making both good and bad ones."

"Is that a royal we?"

"I used to blame my Father for my...problems. He did cast me out, but after that, I'm coming to...believe He isn't in our lives any longer. Not to worry, love, humans are still getting into Heaven, so even if no one is in charge of either of those, you'll be fine."

"So, that's good, right? God isn't still messing with you?"

"In a way, it's worse. It means He just doesn't care anymore."

"Damn." Ella opened the door and gestured him to follow her out. "So, everyone in Hell belongs there?"

"I didn't invent the system. My Father did. I can say without reservation that some do not. I don't know yet what to do about it, or if I even have that power. There are plenty that _do_ belong, and they got there by making not just bad choices, but truly _wrong_ ones. If I had my way, I would simply destroy those souls. It would be kinder than eternal damnation, and less work for the demons."

"Why didn't you?"

"I am, or was, merely the keeper of the keys. Who would stop me if I started? Where does one draw the line at complete destruction instead of merely torture or isolation? Forgive me; I could go on for years."

"It sounds like a miserable job."

"It was."

"Hey, can I ask who is running Hell now?"

"I've no idea. But I'm done with it."

"Should...uh...we be worried? People in general? You said people are still going to Heaven…"

"A good friend died in my arms. She didn't go to Hell."

* * *

Lucifer wasn't back yet but finally texted to let him know where he was. The string of emojis was slightly more understandable than the last few times. The donut had to be work, and the smiling devil was Lucifer and the clock for 'late.' The rest he took to mean going out for dinner if he was up for it. He replied with a thumbs up and a walking dude. 

Dan went out, watching the faces of people passing him on the sidewalk and wondering how many of them had mixed magical lines and didn’t know it. The world got a lot bigger recently but remained unchanged all the same. He tried to pay attention to the furled wings as he strolled, but they seemed content and dormant, so he stopped worrying about them. 

He tried texting the number that Puck had called him from, but he was blocked now. 

He wondered who could give him the most honest answer and decided to call Maze, of all people.

She agreed to meet him if he bought (really late) lunch, and she picked a pho place around the corner from Chloe’s apartment.

He doubted Amenadiel had any experience at all with the _thing_ that had been scooting around in his brain ever since dating Lucifer seemed like a good idea. And it was, or is, it was just that - with Charlotte, it could have been a chance for a bigger family. Trixie wouldn't get a brother or sister with Lucifer. Hell, Lucifer may not even _want_ kids. He had enough money to adopt one. Or like, a dozen. Lucifer liked Trixie, but if he didn't, or couldn't love _her_ , it wasn't going to work out. If he was honest with himself, he'd say the first part didn't even matter - it was pure preference along with Dan's selfish desire to _have_ a bigger family when he hasn't spent a lot of time on the long-term ramifications. The second part - accepting Trixie was absolutely vital. Sometimes Lucifer was still a kid himself, unready for responsibilities of parent-teacher conferences and college applications. 

_And he might never be._

_'It's hard for two males to have a child.' -_ or something like that. Lucifer didn't lie, and 'hard' wasn't 'not gonna happen'. It was also too much like randomly finding a shiny object on the ground and deciding it's your new favorite thing ever, like a goddamn golden retriever on speed. 

He chewed his lip, turning things over in his head on the drive. Of course, Trixie would have always been the kicker, no matter who he ended up dating. They would have to love Trixie and be a good parent. Or _want_ to be a good parent. Lucifer had plenty of motivation to prove he wasn't his Father. He also had a very long history of _not_ wanting to do just that.

He told himself it was way too early to worry about such things. But he couldn't keep the rose-tinted glasses on for too long either. 

Trixie absolutely adored Lucifer, but she was a kid. She'd forgive him - them both - eventually if it didn't work out. 

He wanted very badly to talk to Chloe about everything. To just drag Lucifer to her and _make_ him show her. It wasn't fair to her, or to Trixie to keep these kinds of secrets. Hell, even if it didn't work out, he needed her to know. Chloe was still his partner, his co-parent, his _friend._

Was it worth the risk, spending a few of his remaining good dating years on Lucifer, who might just move on without him? 

_Dammit, Dan, it's fucking **Lucifer**. Who else gets that kind of chance for something more than a romp in the sheets with him?_

_...Chloe would._

He told his brain to shut the fuck up and just drive.

Dan found the place with Google. He hadn't been there before since he didn't usually stick around her place, but the smells from outside were enticing.

Maze busily and noisily slurped up her noodles, after dumping in half a bottle of hot sauce. She had her head lowered over the huge bowl, ignoring him in favor of lunch with her hair back in a high, tight ponytail that reminded him of Chloe. He grabbed the bottle of sweet sauce for himself and ate his noodles slower than her, fucking around on his phone while she stayed silent. Well, stayed _not talking_. He was just about to write off the whole thing when she sat up with a satisfied sigh.

Maze picked up her bowl of broth and drank it, then wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and flagged over a waiter to order a large boba tea and a plate of steamed pork buns. 

Dan nearly protested but then ordered tea too. He was already full, but they come in to-go cups. 

Almost unexpectedly (at this point), she said, “what gives?”

He had just bitten into a slice of jalapeno and nearly spit it out again at her question. He still had a lot of soup left. Swallowing too quickly, he looked up over his bowl. “You’re a demon.”

She appeared unimpressed with his powers of observation. “Duh.”

Dan put his chopsticks down. “I have a dumb question.”

“I figured.”

“Puck called me. She told me I have fae blood. She told me to go find a fair or something, do you know what she meant?”

Maze shifted, waiting impatiently for her tea and pork buns. “Why are you even asking me?”

He chewed his lip and opted for honesty. “Frankly? I think you’re the only one who will give me a straight answer, either way. Not that I don't think I'll get it out of Lucifer eventually, but…"

"He can be demanding."

She said it so flatly that it couldn't be an innuendo, but he blushed a little anyway. "I'm pretty sure Amenadiel only tolerates me, which is still a step up from where we were when he tried to break us up. And you're, well, you. I have more in common with you than either of them."

"Now you're just insulting me."

Dan pushed his bowl to the side, reminding himself that he sought her out. _Demons._ "No, I'm not. Look, I know it sounds crazy, but if Lucifer had never turned up in our lives, I'm around 90% sure I'd eventually ended up in Hell, if I didn't change. I was already losing my wife, I was an asshole to her and everyone else and Trixie was the only thing I had in my life as a reason to even keep my remaining shit together. Later on, I find out that the next person - Charlotte - who came into my life, is again, thanks to Lucifer. Charlotte, or _his mom_ or whatever - I never would have met the original Charlotte at all if Lucifer hadn't been involved."

Maze said nothing, but she said it pretty loud.

"I'm assuming you knew about that since you tried to get us to do a threeway."

"It would've been really hot. Just sayin'."

"So yeah, I had a thing with his mom. And Charlotte later. Which is weird. But not that weird, since it's, you know, Lucifer. The point is, I never would have known her without him around. The universe is trying to tell me something, or maybe it's all just as random and we dig ourselves into our own holes. Either way, Lucifer saved me, I think."

"So you decided to thank him by sucking his-"

"Maze! No, I mean, that's a benefit, but-"

She raised her eyebrow, the one with a scar through it. 

"For me, I mean. Fuck. That doesn't sound right."

"He gets on his knees for me, not the other way around."

"It's not like that."

"What is it like?" 

Dan put his elbows on the table. "I dunno. I _like_ him." _I would definitely lose my shit if he broke up with me. When did Maze become my therapist?_

She made a face. A judgy one. "A lot of people have _liked_ him. I can probably help you find out about your thing. Puck was a good lay, but fairies are weird. Lucifer paid me for hunting her down, but I can always add to the tab and do some more looking around.”

“I’d appreciate it. If you want, I’ll ask him about charging it-”

She waved him off. “Don’t bother. I’d say he has more money than God, but you know.”

Dan flinched, half expecting lightning to come down on them out of the sky. _That ship has probably sailed._ “I...yeah, I just don’t wanna mooch off him, you know?”

“Why not? Well, if you _want_ I can charge you instead. But it’ll probably cost more than your car.”

“Shit, really?”

“I've seen your car. But still, you should figure out what you’re agreeing to before you do. You aren’t going to find another bounty hunter with my set of skills. You definitely won’t find one who can hunt fairies or fae-related stuff, not with a straight face, anyway.”

The steaming buns and the iced tea finally arrived. She looked at her tall cup, then grabbed his tea instead and poked her straw through the plastic before he could object. 

Dan grumbled and grabbed the one in front of her before she claimed _both_ of them. He sucked down something that sort of tasted like green tea and something vaguely astringent instead of his sweet red bean flavor. Oh well. “I’m still going to ask Lucifer before sponging off him. Do you need anything from me?”

She smirked at 'sponging' but asked, “do you know what kinda fairy you are?”

 _Fuck my life_. “Honestly, no. Nor how far back it is. All I got from her is that it’s recessive? She thought it may not show up in Trixie until puberty.”

Maze stilled her face suspiciously. “Oh. Huh.”

“What does that even mean?”

“It means it’s definitely inherited instead of, say, just popping up because she cast a spell on you.”

He wasn’t sure he should say it, but he added, “she called it a ‘gift’.”

“Okay, that helps some. Next time I babysit your kid, I’ll see what I can get from her. Don’t worry, I won’t hurt her.”

Dan chewed on his boba bubbles. It was pretty good, even if he wanted the one he, you know, actually ordered. “Mph. Can I ask something else without sounding insane?”

“Probably not. Shoot.”

He deliberately waited until she had taken a long pull of her drink (his drink), then asked, “Can men have kids like women?”

She didn’t even flinch, much to his disappointment. “It’s not common, but yah." She side-eyed him. "Honestly, it’s more likely for you, with your blood. Lucifer has had a lot of sex over the years and never got anyone pregnant, that I know of.”

“He would have told you right?”

“I mean, he wouldn’t _have_ to. Before we were really friends, it wouldn’t have actually helped to know that. I was his best torturer. If he ever had a kid and it ended up in Hell, I _shouldn’t_ know about it, show favorites, that kind of thing. Then again, he's such a sap that he would probably find a way to send it upstairs instead."

Great. “Seriously though? Wait, it could happen with me?”

“Might wanna hit the drugstore. Just saying. Plan B is over the counter now."

Dan blinked several times. She _had_ to be fucking with him. "Maze, I don't _have_ eggs."

The waiter looked up from across the floor, where he was rolling silverware.

She laughed at his expression. “I wouldn’t worry about it. Unless you have some kind of magic fertility thing going on.”

“Uhm. Maybe?”

“Shit, really? Tell you what, if by some _miracle_ you do get pregnant, _I’ll_ throw the baby shower, okay? One that will put Ella to shame." She stuffed a fresh, steamed bun in her mouth, moaning around it. “Fuck, I love these. No pork in Hell. Not much of anything even edible, really. Definitely nothing with sugar."

He felt a tiny bit bad for begrudging his drink. The not-sweet one was growing on his taste buds. “Uh. Yeah, deal." He lowered his voice, "how do they...uh, get out? Of guys?"

She smiled and his blood turned to ice. "They hafta be _cut_ out. There's no plumbing for it in you. I knew some midwives back in the day who could do it, but sanitation wasn't exactly a _thing_. The baby usually lived, if they had a wet-nurse available. I imagine fairies had a better method since magic births are basically entirely their fault, but I never asked. Sucked for the humans though."

 _Well. That's...horrifying_. "How much do you know about fairies anyway?”

“I picked up some things here and there. They have their own afterlife system, so they don’t end up in Hell that often - it’s just the ones that didn’t know they were. Man, that can make for some fun torturing.”

 _Don't ask. Don't ask. Don't ask._ "Like what?"

She laugh-snorted with a full mouth, thankfully swallowing before saying, "like pulling wings of people who didn't know you could even _have_ them."

"Remind me never to go to Hell."

"Hey, never say never. Being on _my_ end of things was - oh, you mean when you die? Yeah, you better make sure all your shit is straightened out. Like I said, no favorites there."

* * *

Linda crossed her legs. "So. You have an interesting new relationship."

She dutifully didn't mention anything she witnessed last night. She shifted her weight again, feeling a little like she's had too much coffee, even though she stopped drinking it. The feeling was weirdly distracting. She re-crossed her legs, fighting the weird urge to stand up and _move_. 

"I'm still unsettled about the whole deal. Even if he's surprisingly adept in bed."

"You're a good instructor. You mentioned before that Dan presented an ethical dilemma for you, if not in those words, then definitely in that tone. When I saw his...issue, I thought it was even more complicated than you let on."

"About that…"

"You wouldn't be my first patient to date a brother or sister, though I won't say who…"

"He's _not_. As far as I knew to begin with, he was perfectly...human. He might be a bit less as it turns out, but he's still... _Daniel_. The wings are extremely new."

"So, just how much is it bothering you?" She realized she was jiggling her knee and made herself stop.

"To be honest. It...helps that angels aren't the only winged creatures in existence, even feathered ones. Usually, those have more appendages or features to go with, like more eyes or additional protrusions though."

"That sounds alarming."

"No worse or better than mainstream movies make it out to be."

"So. Daniel. Last time we spoke, you mentioned altering your routine for him, at least until you got him to…" She made a gesture, like holding a pan, "you know you don't affect it, right? If a person is or isn't a certain way, you can't turn a straight man bi."

"Well, yes, but it certainly helps to have the Devil to blame for it. And I'm not squeezing blood from a stone; there has to be pulp to begin with. Daniel had it somewhere in him, even if it was merely a grapeseed to start. I'm not saying his banana is as large as mine, but he's no kumquat either."

"Okay, enough with the fruit. But just to be clear, Dan is also-" she flicked her eyes over him, "a...banana?"

"As opposed to?"

"Uh. Kiwi?"

He looked huffy. "I'm fairly sure his nationality is of this continent. Oh, should I send him another speedo?"

 _What is my life even?_ "Kiwi _fruit._ "

Lucifer hummed, pointing at his crotch. "Plantain. Daniel, banana. I thought we were done with fruit. Good enough?"

She realized she was fanning herself. "Yup. What was I saying before that?"

* * *

Dan walked his lunch off, feeling uncomfortably full from all the soup and tea. He thought about how Chloe hadn't even _looked_ pregnant for several months into it. She had been so normal, the only reason they even found out she was already expecting was a pee test.

He rubbed his food-distended belly absently. 

He'd never even been _overweight_ in his life, always active to a fault, determined from early in his career not to become a fat cop. Even as a kid, he'd been borderline scrawny. 

He stopped outside a drug store, looked up at the store sign over the doors, shook his head and continued onward. 

He did, however, make a mental note to ask Lucifer to use condoms next time. Just in case.

And like, forever, probably. He wasn't ready to ask how that would even work.

* * *

At least Lucifer doesn't laugh in his face.

Mostly.

He does, however, point out that the kind of sex Dan had been thinking of wouldn’t result in a pregnancy.

Unfortunately, he also waited a week to even ask about it, after lots of the kind of sex Lucifer said _could_ be a problem.

His probably-boyfriend snoozes lightly, curled up against him, trimmed scruff nuzzling his ear. “The asshole isn’t a sex receptacle, dear.”

So, on the one hand, yay for no loss of sensation due to unnecessary condoms. On the other - “What is?”

“The cock, obviously.”

“Oh. _Obviously_. But I mean. Stuff comes out of it…not..”

“It’s a _tube_ , Daniel. Not a one-way street.”

“I mean. Okay, it is, but-”

“There’s nothing to worry about. Honestly. Fae aren’t more powerful than angels.”

“Okay. Fine. But what if there was something to worry about?” Dan totally hasn’t been reading stuff online about pregnancy. At 2 am. 

“Your child isn’t intolerable.”

“Yeah, but she’s almost eleven. Do you even know what babies are _like_?”

“Other than loud, smelly, and insatiable? I don’t spend more time around them than I have to.”

“No sleep, not much sanity. I mean, Trixie would be thrilled, but-”

Lucifer shifts his weight on top of Dan, bearing him down into the mattress and grinding his hard (again) dick down between his thighs. “We can have some of that definitely non-impregnating sex, just to get your mind off things, hmm?”

He's not going to argue with that. His wings, after effectively sleeping for a fucking week, nudge against the not-really-seams in his back. At home, twisting to look in a mirror, Dan couldn't find them for shit. Concentrating long enough to unfurl them didn't work out either - they refused to appear. 

He hadn't felt them against his skin in so long that the sliding sensation as the feathers emerged made him whole body flinch. 

They flare out between them, almost shoving Lucifer off him. "Sorry."

Lucifer grumbles, locking his knees outside of Dan's, his palms to either side of Dan's head. He holds his chest up and away from the strip of flesh bare of feathers between them. "Well. Can you put them back please?"

Dan tries. They won't budge. "I think they're stuck."

He lowers his hips, bringing them down into contact. "I suppose I can get around it."

He sounds doubtful, "I can flip over, I think." 

Lucifer walks his hands back, to either side of Dan's ribs, pushing through the feathers to stroke his skin with thumbs. "I'm nothing if not creative."

The feeling of displacing feathers makes him shiver. Dan moans softly, reflexively grinding his hips against the sheets. "Fuck, that feels really good."

Lucifer holds himself up on just his knees, moving them up slightly along Dan's thighs. He delicately, at first, strokes both hands down each wing, hesitantly.

Dan shivers and squirms. It feels like someone combing your hair if your scalp was the size of a bed. He moans, less softly. "That's…"

"Devil got your tongue?"

"What do you wanna-gah!"

Lucifer licks and kisses a wet stripe from the crevice of his ass all the way up his spine. He presses his cock against Dan's ass, teasing and hard. Four points of active contact, hands in his wings, mouth and cock on his body, has Dan aching. His wings spread, stretching out until the ends droop off the sides of Lucifer's huge bed, pulling against bones or anchors or whatever in his shoulders.

Lucifer reached for the lube, popping it open one-handed and dripping it directly on his ass. It was probably too much, but Dan didn't care enough to stop him from wasting lube and ruining sheets. The thick liquid slides down his skin, pooling where it needed to go (and further). He gasped and squirmed more, Lucifer's hip bones digging against him deliciously.

It's ridiculous how good he feels. His face shoves against the soft pillow as he seeks any kind of leverage. 

"Bugger."

He twists to look. Lucifer's wings have joined the party. Lucifer looks at them distastefully as they almost seem to float majestically behind his back. The bottom-most edges fall to brush against his...less ethereal looking wings, which arch in response, almost snake-like. 

Dan has his arms folded under his head - he can't go anywhere, but he writhes all the same as a few of Lucifer's wide feathers try to interlock with his. Deliberately, Lucifer growls and the white wings curl upward and away from Dan's body. The throaty snarl isn't at all heavenly and Dan wants desperately to hear it again on his neck. 

"Oh?" And the rumble from Lucifer's throat is dark and deep and close. Dan swears he can feel eyes burning as they watch him. "You want the Devil moreso than the angel?"

Teeth bite down along his neck. "You. I want you."

"Your wings have other ideas."

"Fuck 'em. I don't care what they want." Even though it feels _fantastic_. 

Lucifer pushes just into him, dragging through the lubricant with just the end of his dick. The head of his hard, hot cock slips through, pausing so Dan can catch his breath. He's careful, his legs tense and strong, holding them apart so Dan has a moment to get used to it. 

Dan hisses and arches, pushing back for more. It hurts - the good kind - but the pain passes fast. Lucifer doesn't quite hit his prostate this way, but the pressure is good. And Lucifer's moan on his neck thrums through every inch of him. Lucifer's wings come back down, brushing fully against his, igniting every nerve in his body. Each rolling thrust brings them into sliding contact and Dan has a passing concern about static electricity but that's not a current issue. Ha. _Stop it, Dan._

"What was that?"

Dan clamped down on the thought, firmly. "Nothing. Absolutely nothing."

"Do you talk to _yourself_ in your head?" There is definitely a grin behind him.

"What? No. I mean, who doesn't talk to themselves? Can we please get back to fucking?"

Lucifer doesn't withdraw, but he does pull back, his cock sliding almost out. "Naughty naughty, Detective Espinoza. Are you lying to me?"

Okay, now it was a matter of principle. "No."

Lucifer puts one hand on the back of Dan's neck, stroking lightly. The other squeezes his ass. "I could get myself off this way, watching your fine back, smacking your ass to make you tighten up around my cock."

Dan squirms but doesn't fight it.

"Or maybe I should pull out altogether and spill myself all over your pretty feathers. Get you all dirty."

Shit. That sounded pretty hot. He projected the image, Lucifer's hand curled tight around his cock, wings up and arching back, as he tenses to come, throbbing with bursts of white (excessively really) to paint his blue feathers to soaking. He whines. 

"Oh yes. We can do that. But that, apparently, isn't a _punishment,_ but a reward. I can't reward your lying."

"I'm not lying!" Lucifer pinches the flesh of his butt. It fucking _hurt_. "It's weird, alright?" Weirdness took a left turn somewhere back at _fairies_ _at game night._

Lucifer presses back into his ass and Dan nearly cried with relief, his cock coming back to hardness. 

"See? It's so much better when you're good for me." 

Dan clenches around the cock in his ass. Earning a groan and a deep thrust. "Lucifer…"

"Oh, yes…"

Lucifer lay his body over Dan's, fully, wrapping his arms under them both, under Dan's neck. The wings flex and catch each other's feathers, pulling and tugging all over. Lucifer kisses his neck, pushing his face and breath against it.

It's overwhelming. 

Dan feels something, careful and wild, penetrating his thoughts, from Lucifer. He turns it over, lost in the movement and rush of blood and skin and feathers. As soon as he realizes Lucifer might not be aware he's doing it, Dan says something distracting and the tendril withdraws quickly. Dan doesn't draw attention to it, but he does keep up a vocal rendering of his internal _Lucifer, fuck yes, come in my ass, you feel so fucking good..._

He does, with a shuddering of his body. 

Dan would stop him from pulling out, but he's too hot because _wings_ to stay this way much longer. When Lucifer does separate from him, the sticky motion leaves an entirely _unreasonable_ amount of...fluid. He'd normally call it 'come', but the amount is more like, _Hentai_ levels of the stuff than what he might watch these days. 

Dan wrinkles his nose. It doesn't smell, but it's messy. "Is that...uh…"

"I blame your kinky sex vision. Angel actualization and all that."

Lucifer was making a face at the mess under them and Dan suddenly began laughing and couldn't stop. Between gasps, he said, "I bet your Dad never had _that_ in mind."

Lucifer shoves Dan's head under a pillow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I lied. There's going to be at least one more chapter after this one. I say 'at least', but it's probably just one, but I don't want to cap off the chapter count because I've burned myself that way before too. 
> 
> Mpreg stuff may still be down the road a bit. I'm not a fan of 'accidental pregnancy' as a trope. So I have to either figure out a way my muse likes it, or it'll be a while - either in-story or skipping ahead a few months. Sorry not sorry. In the meantime, feel free to enjoy Dan stressing about it since he can't pee on a stick and get an accurate result. ::pets Dan on the head::


	13. Do you want a blindfold?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some domestic fluff and some crispy smut. Also feels.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't end it on chapter 13, now can I? 
> 
> This wasn't supposed to be a sex chapter XD. 
> 
> No I'm not dead. I'm sad about LUX 2 getting postponed, but it's only delayed and I can move my plane tickets.

Dan is getting used to this new routine. And it's pretty awesome.

 _Fine._ He has a boyfriend. Whatever. 

Dan isn't going to _call_ him that to anyone, mind. Because he's in his mid-thirties, not twelve. Trix can say it though. 

Trixie is good with it. Chloe - he thought maybe she might be jealous, but if she is, she hides it well. 

Even he's surprised when Lucifer put a key-code lock on his elevator. Dan didn't ask him to - not for _that_ reason, and Lucifer hasn't asked if Dan wants it. But it's nice. 

It might just be his overactive imagination, driving him to over-think things about Chloe. It's no secret she and Lucifer have a special connection. They had a real friendship, kindled when she most needed someone new and supportive in her life. She still smiles at Lucifer even after the _Candy Saga_. As much as Dan had been _pretty_ sure he hadn't been gay before meeting Lucifer, he had to wonder if Chloe developed different tastes after partnering up with the Devil. 

_Sure, that's why she fell for Marcus instead of Lucifer._

He's allowed to feel bad for Chloe. Even if Pierce hadn't deserved to die (he did) losing someone you loved isn't easy. If it had been Chloe who died, he would have been utterly devastated. Even as friends, he could admit he still loved her, in different ways. It was easy to love her. 

It was a lot harder to keep her. 

Granted, his past raging asshole-ness hadn't helped. 

He found time to talk to her, really talk, after Charlotte healed, and Pierce's body had been disposed of - unclaimed as it happened. Chloe overrode her own usually curious nature and didn't look too hard into the 'why' part of him being the leader of a network of thugs. Dan diplomatically didn't bring it up. When she had been told of Pierce's death, Trixie frowned, digesting the loss of someone she would remember for a long time to come; someone who loved her mother then was yanked from her life prematurely. It will be permanently wedged into her brain, like when you found out that this kid shared your birthday but you don't really know them, or how this one particular toy your sister had was the same color as yours and now it's a _girls toy._ The horror. 

Fifteen years from now, Trixie will be at a dorm party, drinking and telling her friends about this guy her mom dated and who then was shot while trying to murder someone and oh yeah, _ran a crime ring._

She's going to have amazing stories to tell in college.

(And her dad is with a sleekly handsome dude who calls himself the Devil.)

(Hey, he can be optimistic sometimes.)

Maybe Linda will still be taking patients and Trix won't go to a school too far away. 

Chloe didn't go to Pierce's memorial.

He didn't tell her that he's the one who shot her ex-fiance. He might be able to someday. He can't exactly tell his new boss that he couldn't stick around afterwards and give a statement because his fucking wings wouldn't fold away while they were full of bullet holes. Maybe if he'd had more practice with them, they would've cooperated. He hasn't actually asked if angels and demons are invulnerable. Lucifer isn't. Amenadiel apparently has issues. What had he said? A brother Michael and Gabriel- both _Biblical_ names. The only stories about angels he really remembers are the ones that...involve Lucifer. Well, that and Revelations.

He felt conflicted about abandoning the scene and Charlotte. This isn't exactly the first time he quietly hid evidence under a rug, though this time he feels bad about it for different (probably better) reasons. He hopes it will be the last. Given his new, inhuman features, he isn't sure that hope will hold out. 

He was pretty certain then that Charlotte wouldn't get in serious trouble, and it looks like he was right. He hated to admit it, but she was the far better choice out of her or Amenadiel. Only one of them had a real ID.

He hopes Chloe didn't get a good look at the body.

After a few days, it became clear that she did need some time off. The temporary boss gave her two weeks. For anyone else, that would be an almost obscene amount. Lucifer had to have pulled a string or two on her behalf, not that she'd ever find out. After over a year as a consulting Devil, he had a few favors up his sleeve to put to good use. Lucifer didn't brag about it and Dan didn't ask, but _nobody_ got that kind of time off on short notice.

Chloe dug in her heels for a day, then made arrangements for Dan to take Trixie. Equally mysteriously, she got a free upgrade to first class on all her flights. After everything that's happened, Dan can't do more than roll his eyes and be grateful Lucifer didn't phone in a 'free upgrade' for passage on a private jet.

The drawback is that he has Trixie the entire time she will be gone, meaning he and Lucifer have no time for a date night unless he gets a sitter.

He can't regret it. He hasn't had this much time with his kid since before the divorce. 

He is also definitely going to call a sitter before Chloe comes back. 

Trixie called her mom every night while she's on a tour in Europe. It gave her time to watch the landscape from a tour bus or three, drink wine in foreign cities and find a change of scenery. Dan talked to her briefly as well, sent her photos of Trixie and sometimes selfies with Lucifer leaning into the frame.

He had snapped one where Lucifer was coming on from the side with his tongue sticking out to lick the side of Dan's face, at the exact moment Dan realizes what is about to happen. Trixie is in front of them both, oblivious and smiling.

He heard Chloe's laugh - pure and surprised - at their expressions and the universe got a little lighter.

He kept the shot as a lock screen. 

He's not going to change his social media profile yet but it's nice to look at in his album. His finger twitched over the 'relationship status' setting but opted not to get flooded with questions by bringing attention to his private life, especially from any lurking Espinozas. He had a private bet with himself on who would respond first to changing his status from 'single' to 'it's complicated.' 

It's not that they won't all come around eventually. Probably. Hopefully. As long as he lies about Lucifer's name. Maybe he should start with the crazy aunt that Lucifer would charm their pants off if they met him under circumstances other than as a boyfriend. It's not that they're homophobic, exactly, but there will be a few family members who will tell him they're praying for him. He’d feel way too tempted to tell them not to bother, because he’s got a direct line to the only one worth praying _to_.

Dan shakes his head and cleans up after taco dinner while Lucifer makes fun of his Netflix programming history with commentary on the combination of kid's shows and _Body Bags_ rewatches. He complains as he tries to start a show and is blocked by the child-safe warning, requesting an unlock code. Dan debates yelling it and changing it later, but he came out to see what it is first, hoping it's not porn.

Lucifer scowled and the screen...unlocked. Lucifer smiled triumphantly. "Ha! I wasn't sure that would work."

The time of _normalcy_ gave way when Lucifer reminded them he is still a being with supernatural qualities. "What are you trying to watch?"

" _Mind Hunter._ "

"Okay. That's definitely _not_ a kids show. You'll have to wait a few years until Trixie is older to watch that with her around."

"She's going to be an adult _eventually._ "

"And you can watch it around her then." With as much of a dead-pan face as he can manage, he says, "put on _Ponies._ "

Lucifer's expression blanks as he tries to suss out Dan's word like it might be a secret code. Dan plucks up the remote, and after a second of deciding, switches it to the pilot episode of _My Little Pony_. The new one where the ponies are wildly out of proportion.

Trixie groans. "I'm too old for that."

"Yeah, but apparently adults my age aren't."

" _Brony_."

"You say that like it's a bad thing. You used to like singing along."

So did Chloe.

Trixie doesn't look up from her phone, but she totally lip-syncs the opening song. 

So does Dan. He's not actually a Brony, but Lucifer's visible flinch made the term worth knowing.

Lucifer remains frozen like a deer in headlights. "You watch this _willingly?"_

Dan debates throwing a dish towel at him. "Watch the pilot, and I'll owe you a favor. Take from that what you want and don't say something that will traumatize my daughter."

Trixie cuts a _look_ at him, but her tone has less of a razor-edge than her words, "if you don't want to _traumatize_ me, at least be quieter than mom and Marcus were." 

Dan winces, thinking of wedging some kind of soft padding between his bed frame and the wall. He really didn't intend for that to have happened, but at least Trixie didn't come running or knocking to check on them after the loud bang. He had hoped she hadn't noticed, or if she had, didn't think too hard about what it meant. So much for that. "Sorry, Trix." He didn't want to be the parent who couldn't talk to their kid about _stuff_ , but he wasn't ready for her to grow up just yet either.

He knows his face is red but Trixie just sticks her tongue out at him and goes back to her phone. "S'okay. I'm glad you're dating. Even if it's not Charlotte."

Right. That's going to be a sore spot. Even if she likes Lucifer, this has to be a little weird for her.

Lucifer picks at his trousers, looking a bit worried. "Er. Child, your father indicated that you are alright with our relationship?"

Her eye-roll is Chloe-worthy. "Having a gay dad is trendy, so I can put up with your _Luciferness_ , I guess."

Lucifer suddenly grins, "you minx, you'd love to have a step-Devil, wouldn't you? Put up with me?" He points at her, "try putting up with someone who can't even _drive."_

She brightened up. "Teach me?"

"Someday, when your parents permit it, as previously promised."

Dan wanders back toward his small kitchen. "Didn't you know dads get dibs on teaching their kids to drive?"

"Sounds like a rigged system to me."

He catches Lucifer's softening look at Trixie and goes back to work on scrubbing the counter where some beef grease had slicked. "Help with the hard parts, and I might let you help with the fun ones. Your Dad forbid she brings home a date you don't approve of."

Lucifer squints at her. "She's young for that, isn't she?"

"Not anytime _soon_ , man."

Trixie makes a face. "Boys. Ew."

The devil tilts his head. "Girls?"

"Also ew."

Her dad closes the dishwasher. "Like I said, too early. Thank - uh. Well, actually God in this case, I guess."

"Most creatures do attain adulthood considerably faster than humans."

Dan dries his hands on a towel, aware that Trixie is still within earshot, "she doesn't even have to date _anyone_. It'd make my life easier."

"Meh. _Adult stuff._ "

Lucifer's attention gets drawn to the colorful and starkly outlined animals. "Are the artists aware that that's not how any of that _works_?"

* * *

Dan watches Lucifer sleep from where he paused at the bedroom window. He breathes evenly and peacefully in Dan's bed. His black hair is a little mussed, but retains the general shape. One thick curl had twisted loose where Dan had bit his lip and clutched his fingers in thick hair and kept his urge to say something stupid to himself. With his elbows out like wings and his hands tucked under the pillow, he looks like he was made to be in someone's bed. The light loved him, picking out attractive swathes of skin, even desaturated by the low light, they begged to be touched.

Dan feels it even then. Unguarded and unaware, the power radiated off him. He resists the urge to disrupt Lucifer's sleep like he might be a cat with an exposed belly. 

The window lets in too much light, even this late - the streets outside are always full of light - cars, lamps, signs. His place, chosen for proximity to work and Trixie's school, has a lot of road noise too.

He thinks about the man in his bed. Lucifer's long, graceful back, strong under his fumbling fingers. The soft, quiet sounds they made into each other's necks to keep from disturbing the other occupant down the hall.

Dan bought a new bed for himself when he moved out of the place he and Chloe had shared - too big for just a single dad and partial custody. _Does Chloe have a new bed too? Or does she still sleep on the same mattress we used to make love on?_

Earlier and often, Lucifer complained about the merely queen size bed of 'questionable manufacturing quality', but only superficially. Dan doesn't point out that it's the same bed Charlotte spent time in too. Lucifer would probably run away screaming just from that. He doesn't notice that he chuckled aloud.

"What's so funny?" Lucifer's sleep-laden voice comes from his pillow, muffled. There's a wire and mirror decoration hanging on the wall above his head that Dan bought to impress Charlotte. Or at least make the place look like one somebody wanted to live in. 

He starts to reply with a dismissive, _nothing._ But that road led down a path to loneliness. It didn't mean he had to be entirely _honest,_ though. Instead he says, "I like how you look there."

Lucifer twisted in place, shifting a broad shoulder out of the way to look up. "How is that humorous?"

Dan slips back into bed where his place has cooled off some from his trip to the bathroom and his pause at the window. "How come you stay? You could go home to LUX," Lucifer's skin is warm, his flat stomach firm under Dan's forearm where he tucks back in.

Lucifer is confused by the combination of question and gesture. He looks up at Dan uncertainly. "Should I go?"

"No, you idiot." Dan kisses him because he can and rests his head on Lucifer's shoulder. "Your bed is way nicer though."

Lucifer stroked his arm. "You're not in it."

He felt warm. How long has Lucifer had a real home? They kiss again. Lucifer turns to him for a better angle. "This week has been really good."

Lucifer hums, non-committally. 

"You've been great with Trixie around."

"The urchin is part of the _deal_ , is she not?"

The warm feeling pulled his chest and let go like unknotting string. "She is. But you could've spent less time with her, if you wanted that."

"I'm quite good with people, you know."

Dan can take small victories. Lucifer has insecurities but he had never been _insecure_ with his time. It was impossible to marry the feelings of the warmth in his dark eyes with those of the scary thing your parents warn you about. This actually fragile being who didn't trade in souls. 

That stupid thing came out. He couldn't stop it. "I love you."

Lucifer tensed from head to toe. Dan felt it up and down his whole body. "Well. I'm sure you'll change your mind in the morning. If not, then soon."

Dan propped himself up on an elbow. "I'm in bed with the Devil."

"I have this _power_. You may have heard of it."

"People throw themselves at you. This isn't that."

"How do you know? How could you? You've been subjected to the full force of my aura, my other skin, my celestial aspects. You're enthralled."

"Other skin?"

"Before I healed you, you saw it."

"The...lightning?"

"Ah. That's all that manifested then? So it wasn't fully returned. Or it was, but I brought it under control in time. Well. That explains some things."

Dan bit his lip. "Show me."

In the darkness, relieved only with electric light peeking in through window blind slats of a mediocre apartment, Lucifer blinked his eyes open and looked up at him. In that moment, Dan _felt_ the differences between himself and this thing beside him. The depths of Lucifer's eyes tugged at his soul, something dark and dangerous and equally light and compassionate. All wrapped up in a beautiful package of human features. Did They make Their children to be loved, someday, by someone else? If God knows everything, were humans made in the mold of Their children? Or was it made with the future in mind? Something like this? 

Lucifer and Amenadiel _implied_ that an angel sometime, somewhere had had a child. At least, Dan can't imagine it would have even been possible for he and Lucifer to be (very) distantly related. Maze had sounded indifferent but not dismissive. Had Lucifer seen people come into Hell, wondering if those souls were the offspring of a mortal and something not? Wanting to know, but also never asking? Any mortal child of his would either end up in Hell or Heaven, and he could or would go to neither. Any immortal child came with the same problem. The crushing _loneliness_ of either option weighed on him like lead bricks.

And just like that, Dan shelved his feelings, his wants, realizing in a split second how selfish it would be to ask such a thing of Lucifer.

Putting it away in a very small box, on a very high shelf, in a deep mental closet, Dan swallowed and looked at what was left. Dan kissed him again. He still wants to be here. And it has nothing to do with his power. 

Lucifer, unaware of what just happened in Dan's head, says, "my other form is built to incite terror. It was forced on me. I took it and used it, like a costume to wear to frighten demons and suspects alike."

He moves his hand down to Lucifer's belly, stroking. "You don't scare me."

"At the risk of causing you to decide to burn your flat down, I don't want to scare you. I haven't _tried_ yet."

Dan grins slyly, "if you aren't ready to say it back, don't worry about it."

Lucifer snorted. "I'm trying to tell you that you're wrong. I won't turn down anything you want to do to or with me, but you _can't_ possibly love me. The Detective is the only person immune to my powers."

"So far." Lucifer had finally told him a little; Chloe didn't respond to his _aura_ due to the blasted miracle thing. "Do we need to have the whole conversation again about how I married Chloe way before you two ever _met_? I mean, sure, it's a fuck of a coincidence - but if we have free will, that's a hell of a short window, no pun intended. If your Dad," he was still having trouble thinking of Him that way, curled up close to Lucifer, "knew things would happen a certain way, then there's no free will. That's one screwed up road to _potentially_ get you a girlfriend, who was technically still taken at the time."

Lucifer shrugged next to him. "Dad tossed some rocks carved with instructions at a group of humans who all nearly died in the wilderness. He's not known for being straightforward." 

"He did talk from a burning bush. That's pretty direct."

"Actually, that was me."

"Because of course it was."

"In my defense, I get bored easily."

Dan kisses him. "The burning eyes thing was kinda hot."

"Hmmmph. The rest of it isn't."

"I want to prove to you it's not your _aura_ that's keeping me around."

"And I don't want to cause you to run out of the place, naked and screaming."

"How about if I close my eyes? Leave it at touching."

"Do you want a blindfold? Or do you think you can keep from peeking?"

"Let me find something." Dan found a red and black bandana, earning a wolf whistle as he bent over to search the bottom of his closet for it. He rolled his eyes and then covered them by folding the bandana over a few times and tying it behind his head. "Okay, I can't see shit."

Lucifer breathed out. The air changed slightly. Warmer, maybe. Placing a hand on his mattress, Dan trailed his fingers along the sheet until he encountered skin.

Or what should have been skin. He had prepared himself, commanding himself not to flinch. He did anyway. 

Embarrassed by his reflex, he pushed his hand forward, gripping an ankle. Flesh and bone flexed lightly, covered by a ravaged layer of scars. It felt hot; not too bad, but Dan wouldn't want to fall asleep with him this way. 

"What are you smiling at?"

"I was just thinking that if I fell asleep next to you like this, I'll be dehydrated by morning," the pads of his fingers slipped up a shin. He's not so secretly relieved to feel nothing but hard, knotty skin (or whatever) rather than gaps or holes. There are ridges and gashes, healed or at least they feel the same as his outer surface. Dan scoots up to run both hands up the leg, well muscled under the hot dryness. Lucifer lay completely still, hard with tension. "Does it hurt to be this way?"

"Not anymore. After I healed, it's just literally a second skin."

After God shoved him out of Heaven, to burn in a literal lake of fire. He could see it, soft white wings aflame and every feather burning off.

It wasn't hard to make the connection of fire victims with what he felt under his fingers. Parts felt tight and smooth, or gnarled in knotty patches. His thumb smoothed down into a crevice on Lucifer's thigh. Dan stays quiet, mapping out the places where Lucifer responds. Where all of it should be deadened nerves, some parts respond more than others - just behind the knees in the divots, along the underside of his thighs in a wide, slightly meandering strip, the hollows of his hips - Lucifer's breath catches when Dan slides his hands across burned flesh over his hipbones. "Can I touch you?" 

"You're doing well so far."

Dan takes it as a 'yes', and realizes Lucifer must be entirely hairless this way. His cock is flaccid. He handles it gently, noting where the skin is stiff with scar tissue. His balls are the same - it seems like the inner workings are still there too, rolling under his fingers. Dan slips a finger back further, and stops when Lucifer hisses as if in pain. 

"Sorry," he starts to pull back, but hot fingers curl around his wrist, quick as lightning. 

"That's not something I've had, like this."

"Do you want me to stop?"

"...No."

Dan kisses his leg, and feels the heat on his lips, the faint taste of ash. He pushes Lucifer's legs up, shoving his nose into the cleft of Lucifer's balls and licking under them gently. There's no musk at all, no skin moisture or taste of sweat, no curled hair to work around or past. Dan settles on his arms, setting up for a long stay. He rolls his hips in the sheets, to wiggle his own growing erection into a comfortable spot under his weight. Lucifer sighs and relaxes. 

He's tempted to rip off the bandana, but respects Lucifer's wishes. The heat under his tongue grows a little, scraping over a particular ridge to the right. Lucifer's cock starts to fill, pressing against his forehead. the blindfold shifts a hair, and Dan can see red skin for a second. He closes his eyes, concentrating on his task. Lucifer relaxes a step further and lets Dan in as he curls his tongue in slow circles and nudgies in. 

Lucifer clutches Dan's hair in his fingers with a moan.

There's a drop of wetness between his brows. Lucifer got hard enough to release a little pre-come. Dan pulls back enough to get some air and bite a ridge. The response is dramatic, a buck of his hips and fingers that curl and clutch, pulling hair until it hurts. 

Dan relishes it. He finds more sensitive spots, returning to Lucifer's entrance each time. The Devil's body tenses several times before Dan realizes Lucifer is refusing to _ask_ for relief for his cock. 

He pulls up. Licking his balls on the way and taking his cock in his mouth as fast as he can manage.

It's … bigger.

The ridges aren't as pronounced, but he's definitely larger this way. Dan's ass is still slicked up from just a little bit ago, so he sits up with a last, hard suck and straddles Lucifer. He knows it's going to hurt some, but he will _not_ complain. He flinches a little, unintentionally tensing up with an unfamiliar hard point that hurts more than he planned for. Okay. Yeah, more lube is necessary. Dan snags the bottle glad he didn’t think to put it back on the nightstand earlier and quickly applies more to both of them.

Lucifer says nothing. Usually, he's full to brimming with dirty talk. Dan fills in the quiet, whispering, as he sinks down on Lucifer's cock again. "That's so good. You feel so good, Luce."

Lucifer finally touches him. Dan flinches again, he can't help it between not being able to see and not expecting it. It's his turn to grab Lucifer's wrist, holding on. "It's okay, I can't see you. Go ahead."

The hands touch him again, sliding down his sides to hips. Lucifer hesitates before touching Dan's cock, which had wilted a bit with all the tension.

He wants very badly for Lucifer to stroke him, but doesnt want to spook him. He knows he's going to fucking flinch _again._ He moans when one hand leaves his skin and he hears Lucifer spit. The thumb touches his dick first, wet and lightly skimming. He doesn't flinch. He rolls his hips. Taking Lucifer deeper, knowing he's wincing at a scrape, but does it anyway. 

Jesus, he's so full. Dan leans back a little, using Lucifer's propped up thighs to adjust. A hand closes around his cock, stroking. "Fuck, you feel so fucking good, Luce."

Lucifer mumbles something. His voice must change a little too if he wants it to do that, rumbling a little, his whole body vibrating with it under Dan.

Dan breathes in and curls his hips, pumping himself. He's straining against Lucifer's hand, and - 

He hears the change in Lucifer's voice, from hesitation to eager lust, "you're going to come all over me, aren't you?"

And fuck he's close. "I want you-"

"Oh, I'll take your arse until I'm done too, but first, show me how much you want this."

Dan reaches up to pull off the blindfold. He knows Lucifer is fast enough to stop him. No hand intercepts him this time. It helps that he expects what he sees, but also not. Lucifer's burning black eyes are on him, fire stripping his soul bare. 

Dan has already given it.

There's something there in his eyes, Dan's seen it before - fear. Lucifer has only the shape of humanity - the color is wrong, the cleft in his chin is too deep, but his lines are all the same. His muscles bunch and contact, his lips lie lightly parted, half a held-breath, waiting for him to decide to run away; like everyone else. 

Lucifer's eyes, burning with black fire, burning with many things, didn't leave his. Dan blinks first, and closes his eyes again because if he doesn't, he's going to want to hit something instead of be fucked. Lucifer doesn't have _eyelashes_ in this form. All of him had been scorched and stripped. He touched the heat under him, letting a moan escape his throat, quietly. 

Lucifer's sides are rough on the inside of his knees. If any part of him gains a scar from this, he'll wear it proudly. 

Lucifer's fingers and thumb stroke him in an urgent rhythm. He'd let go, hovering, when Dan looked at him. A hesitant smile pulled at Lucifer's lips. He wondered what they'd feel like on his body.

Dan's fingers grip hard into Lucifer's thighs. Lucifer pushes hard into him, rubbing up against his prostate. His cock is _throbbing_. There's a heady strength there, a tightly wound clock about to spring loose. So much power under that skin, in that body. Lucifer could break him, break _anyone_ , but even now, he could feel the power held back, the cock sliding into him with a gentle roll. 

Fuck it's sexy. He's looking again as Lucifer's eyes drift closed and Dan can see his throat, the underside of his jaw as Lucifer tightens up, pounding toward his peak.

Dan feels him let go, and it pushes him over the edge too, spilling over a red hand and onto Lucifer's belly. 

He makes an incoherent noise, shuddering against Lucifer's grip and the still-hard cock in his ass. The skin softens under him, cooling and paling. Dan slumps forward, curling up on his side. He kisses him, putting his fingers through the black hair that returns with human-looking skin. Dan looks at him. "I love you."

"I know."

"Dork."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I couldn't resist ending the chapter that way. So sue me 
> 
> I'm still dancing around the mpreg thing with my muse. I'm not sure it came across that the only reason Dan could even get pregnant is because he's part fairy. Regular human males can't.
> 
> I want to establish really hard that Dan is in it with Lucifer, future kids or not before it happens.


	14. Peanut galleries

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Story wrap up!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for coming along with me on this ride. This story is now complete and may be continued (probably will be) if time allows.

He has to admit, it is nice – floating high in the night sky, being carried more by the air currents than his own effort. He had gotten better at this, but of course he isn’t anywhere  _ near _ Lucifer’s skill. Probably never will be, but that's okay too. If he survives the outing anyway. Right now the loon is flying (literal) loops around him, very nearly destroying his calm.

Lucifer, on the up swoop, cut so close he clipped a flight feather, shearing it neatly off at the outer edge and buffeting Dan with his wash as he zipped above. He yelled an ineffectual curse, commanding his heartbeat to slow - again - or at least get out of his throat, but it got lost in the wind and Lucifer's teasing laugh.

The other man’s wings gave off a soft light, casting his outline against the black above, and he had learned that they only did that when Lucifer was actually happy (and didn’t notice, because he would nearly look embarrassed by it and make it stop – so of course he made sure not to draw attention to it), so he didn’t begrudge him his silly antics.

He knew he wasn't in danger of plummeting to his death, but he still wasn't up for trying stunts just yet. Besides, the longer he didn't try anything difficult, the longer Lucifer could take joy in showing off. Angelic nature aside, he was a sight to behold; grace and unhindered child-like glee as he flew circles around Dan.

Jesus, he's going to be sore tomorrow, stunt flying or no. He's been up too long already, feeling the decidedly not -an -immortal -being  strain in his shoulders. 

Checking his bearings, he could just about make out the pinprick campfire, far, far below them. Chloe and Trix were waiting there for them, making s’mores and having some much needed girl-time after the day they’ve spent hiking. They picked out a spot close to where Luce took him for his first flight. He couldn't see Trixie's expression when he launched up after Lucifer, but he clearly heard her delighted squeal. Even Chloe watched until they vanished from easy sight.

They- he, her, their daughter, Lucifer, needed to get away for a while, after everything that went down these last few… well, what certainly  _ felt _ like centuries. A camping trip seemed like just the thing.

Fucking… angels, the Devil (and sleeping with the Devil), real life Miracles. Cain. Linda being pregnant. With Amenadiel’s baby!  (And he will  _ never  _ tell this to  _ anyone, _ but the first thing his brain spat out when they got the news was  _ Holy shit, a real-life Nephalem! We‘re all characters in Diablo now!) _

Chloe’s extreme reaction to finding out that Lucifer had been telling the truth all along.

But Dan had been there when Luce brought out his wings for her, the first time, and walked her through it. She didn't exactly recover  _ quickly _ , but she did recover. Trixie was easier, brushing away the revelation as easily as Ella had, and just as excitedly. They didn't explain Dan's  _ situation  _ immediately, but it was still much easier when they got to it.

He’s still thanking his lucky stars (and they ALL are, these days, considering who made them) that Chloe got suspicious of that weird priest she met in Rome. More than a little stalkerish, if you asked Dan. The Father found her researching the Devil, but she left soon after. He might have been curious himself, in her situation.

The church had a very stilted idea about the Devil. Biased. There’s really no telling what would’ve happened if she’d bought into that guy's propaganda.

But they’re here now, far away from prying eyes and meddling people. Trying to find their pace in this new normal, trying to figure out how the dynamics of this weird family works.

Without him noticing when it happened, Lucifer is right below him now, back to  the ground and looking impatient. He must’ve tried to get his attention for a while now.

Scanning the ground for impediments, Dan landed lightly, leaving enough space to only blow sparks from the fire off into the night like orange fireflies rather than causing the fire to balloon in everyone's faces. 

Trixie clapped, even though she'd seen him do it a few times already. He blushed, folding them away as easily as Lucifer did. “Sorry. Guess I spaced out.”

Lucifer rolls his eyes, “I’d say. Anything I should worry about?”

Dan just shakes his head and lets himself drift closer to Lucifer – close enough to reach out and wind his hand into the wind-swept curls.

Lucifer, for once, doesn’t complain about someone messing up his ‘do. It's doubly nice of him to ask if Dan's alright instead of assuming something's wrong.

He steals a quick, easy kiss, comfortable and warm on his cooler lips. He'll warm his air-chilled hands by the fire in a moment, since he can't put them somewhere more intimate in front of the family. 

Chloe grins at them from the fire -probably knowing  _ exactly  _ what he‘s thinking - , skewering another marshmallow, "hey, I saved you a few."

Luce has that look in his eyes, something as warm as he is, flames from the campfire dancing, reflecting the protective heat if not the raw hunger of something primal. Dan speaks to her, without looking away. "Thanks," to Lucifer, "what's up?"

Lucifer's next kiss came with a little more pressure. "This trip reminds me of the early days. A few humans figuring things out around a gift of fire."

"One of your siblings?"

"I wasn't the only one curious about them. You." 

His fingers are back in black hair. He can't seem to stop touching it as often as possible. He has to tilt his chin up for Lucifer, something he's getting used to. "Well, now we have showers. And huge bathtubs."

Chloe cleared her throat.

"And peanut galleries." Dan kissed him a third time, stepping back but hanging on to his hand, tugging him toward the girls. "Love you."

Lucifer doesn't hesitate anymore, even if there still lurked a bit of disbelief in it, "love you too."

Yes. They’d be just fine.

* * *

Later that night, they all sat on blankets around the dying fire.

Chloe on one side of Lucifer, close enough that they brushed against each other when they moved (probably trying to prove to herself – and Lucifer – that she really wasn’t afraid anymore), Dan on the other and Trixie sprawled mostly over everyone, fast asleep after a long day.

He didn't even mind her sitting close enough to rub knees with his boyfriend. The night outside the fire loomed with a chill in the air and besides, he had no reason to be jealous. It's good she's here - better than good. The devil needs his friends and she will always be a huge part of his life. Their lives.

He lets himself miss the time the two of them came up here years ago, alone but for the trees, newlyweds making the most of the weekend and a small tent. Chloe brings it up first, apparently a good memory for her too, despite the tick-checking (and finding) afterward that no one likes to do. 

They’re talking in low tones, just light banter and teasing. Dan’s holding on to one of Lucifer’s hands, fingers idly playing with the ring he never takes off. Lucifer still doesn't get the appeal of abandoning the city on purpose - at least for mortals. He can fly anywhere he wants, no hiking required. He enjoys asking prodding questions about that trip that makes Trixie groan and Chloe blush. 

Suddenly, there’s a rustle coming from some brushes ahead, just off the walking path, and a woman steps out. She’s wearing torn and dirty… well, rags. He can’t really make out what it had been before that, but he'd be astonished if she mounted the park trail that way. The night around them is too dark, and from the slight distance the fire was throwing more shadow than light. Up until the point she looks pointedly at Lucifer from the other side of the fire, she could have been a very lost hiker. Or a wayward homeless woman from the city.

She has long, dark hair framing her face and falling down her chest - black maybe, like Lucifer's – and she’s coming close like a wraith from a bad scary movie, barefoot and holding coldly contained rage in her body language. Lucifer's hand under his tenses, clenching in a vise-grip. 

Her fists clench, darkly glinting eyes focusing on Lucifer then drifting to Dan. Coolly, she addresses them as a whole. “So. Who here killed my son?”

Lucifer sits up straighter, swallows once, rigid tension giving way to disbelief.

“Eve?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Stay healthy, stay safe, stay the fuck inside.

**Author's Note:**

> The title becomes relevant in chapter 2 <3
> 
> Thanks for reading <3


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